Kansas lawmaker faces 3 battery charges over school incident
By JOHN HANNA, AP Political Writer
Published: May 17, 2021, 11:27am
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In this photo from Monday, May 3, 2021, Kansas state Rep. Mark Samsel, R-Wellsville, talks on his cellphone ahead of the House's daily session, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. Samsel has been charged with three counts of misdemeanor battery over incidents involving two teenage students while he was substitute teaching. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas House member was charged Monday with three counts of misdemeanor battery, accused of having made “rude, insulting or angry” contact with two teenage students in a classroom while working as a substitute teacher.
The charges against Republican state Rep. Mark Samsel arose from a student reporting an April 28 incident involving Samsel in what videos showed to be a noisy classroom in his hometown of Wellsville, a town of about 1,700 people roughly 55 miles (89 kilometers) southwest of Kansas City.
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