Ethics panel won’t investigate Dem arrest during protest

The Ethics Committee on Thursday announced it will not investigate Rep. Gwen Moore’s (D-Wis.) arrest last week at a protest with fast food workers.

The issue was resolved with a citation and a fine, requiring no further review from the committee.

{mosads}Moore was arrested last Thursday during a protest in which fast food workers urged their employers to raise their minimum wage to $15 per hour. Moore was detained along with 26 workers in Milwaukee, one of hundreds of cities where demonstrations were staged.

“I thought it was important to elevate this issue and raise consciousness,” Moore told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after being released and paying a $691 fine.

The Ethics Committee’s determination was expected. Ethics rules maintain the committee must begin an inquiry into any member charged with a crime within 30 days or give reason for deciding against it. 

It routinely dismisses protest-related arrests. The committee made the same decision last year when a number of Democrats were arrested during an immigration protest near the Capitol.