Last Wednesday, Mark Samsel, a Kansas lawmaker working as a substitute teacher, acted out in a high school classroom. Videos show Samsel ranting at students about sex, God, and suicide, along with other topics that are not appropriate for a school setting. Students and parents describe Samsel’s behavior as bizarre.

Samsel was charged on an account of battery when he specifically targeted one male student, shoving and kicking the student in the groin. He then went on to invite other students to join him. 

The Republican represents Kansas House District 5, which includes Wellsville and the surrounding area. The House leadership is in the process of gathering details to decide what the next steps are regarding Samsel’s position in the House.

Students, parents, and citizens of Wellsville were especially off-put when Samsel released a personal statement about the situation. His full statement can be here. He talked about how he wished he was in the jungles of Africa, mentions his faith several times, then goes on to attack modern society’s normalizations. He then touches on the situation happening in the classroom, ending his statement with a Royals chant. 

Samsel was booked Thursday into the local county jail, then released the next day on a $1,000 bond.