CHARLESTON, WV — Del. Mike Caputo (D-50) has been charged with misdemeanor battery, after ramming through the House chamber door, injuring a doorkeeper. Caputo was also accused of shoving Del. Sharon Malcolm (R-39).
“I have already apologized for losing my temper that day, but I certainly didn’t intend to physically hurt anyone and don’t believe I committed a crime,” Caputo told WV MetroNews.
Caputo has hired Charleston lawyers Tim DiPiero and Lonnie Simmons to serve as his legal representatives. He expressed that DiPiero and Simmons will be “gathering some key evidence which the prosecutor’s office may not be aware of.”
When the March 1 incident occurred, Caputo’s committee assignments were removed for the short term of the remaining session. According to the Legislature’s website, the assignments have been restored.
Caputo’s anger was initially sparked by a meme being displayed on “GOP Day” inside the Capitol. This led to the delegate angrily pushing the door open, injuring a doorman.
“I’m the one who kicked the door open. That’s how angry I was,” Caputo expressed in a House floor address to the legislature.
During a March 5, radio interview on The Caiden Cowger Program, Del. Malcolm recollected the events that unfolded between Del. Mike Caputo (D-50) and the doorman, along with expressing that Caputo made aggressive physical contact, shoving her on the House floor.
“He said, ‘Get the F (f**k) out of my way,’” Malcolm recollected, quoting Caputo. “He pushed me out of his way, and went on to the Floor.”
“It’s not only unprofessional. It’s unmanly. He picked on a young boy. I think the kid might be around 20 and had his back to him, so he hits him in the back. And then he accosts a senior citizen female, and then he goes around telling people a different story. He’s made up two or three.”
Capito represents Marion County’s 50th district.