Campbell, R-Mountain City, resigned from the General Assembly in a sudden move Thursday, less than two hours after he told The Tennessean he had no plans to step down from a Republican caucus leadership position over a harassment policy violation.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, confirmed Thursday afternoon Campbell had issued a letter of resignation after an ethics subcommittee last month found Campbell had violated a workplace discrimination and harassment policy.
“Discrimination and harassment in any form will not be tolerated,” the subcommittee memo states.
According to the memo, its findings were addressed to Sexton on March 29. The Tennessean has requested further comment from Sexton’s office on when he was made aware of Campbell’s violation and whether Sexton pursued any internal sanctions against Campbell before the memo was publicized.
Initially, there were no public repercussions for Campbell, the Republican Caucus vice chair, in the three weeks since the subcommittee issued their findings.
The memo was first reported by NewsChannel5, which reported at least one legislative intern complained of alleged sexually harassing communications from Campbell.
As the story broke inside the House chamber on Thursday right before lawmakers took a lunch break, Campbell sat at his desk with his head down.
© CopyRights RawNews1st
