COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A city councilman indicted on a domestic violence charge is suing Gov. Henry McMaster for suspending him.
News outlets report that Columbia City Councilman Moe Baddourah said in a news release Monday that he has filed a lawsuit in the Richland County Court of Common Pleas in an effort to resume his duties. In the release, he called McMaster’s March 13 executive order “ill-conceived, unlawful and unconstitutional.”
A grand jury indicted Baddourah on a second-degree domestic violence charge for allegedly slamming his estranged wife’s leg in a car door after they argued. Baddourah pleaded not guilty.
The state’s constitution allows the governor, who consulted the state attorney general’s office, to suspend an officeholder indicted for a “crime involving moral turpitude.”
The state supreme court previously declined to hear Baddourah’s challenge.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.