NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A top Tennessee Republican has gone on the defensive after detailing what he would do if he were sexually assaulted as he fielded questions on appointing a lawmaker accused of sexual misconduct to oversee an education committee.
A video recording released this week showed House Speaker Glen Casada saying that if he were raped, he “would move and hell would have no fury.” The Republican was being filmed surreptitiously at a town hall by former Democratic congressional candidate Justin Kanew, who later posted the video to social media.
When Kanew pushed back that Casada couldn’t know what a woman in rural Tennessee would do in that situation, Casada said “as a man I could, there are just certain codes of conduct.”
Casada has since clarified he did not mean he would physically move from his home and neither was he suggesting rape victims should move away from their assailants but instead he would take other actions. However, Casada on Thursday doubled down on his decision to name Republican David Byrd as chairman of an education panel.
“Allegations are just that,” Casada told The Associated Press. “Our most sacred right is that we are innocent until proven guilty. We must abide by that.”