CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Jim Justice called for Del. Joe Jeffries to resign Saturday over a graphic sex-related post on TikTok. The video, according to TikTok agency Tokmatik, has gained more than 100,000 TikTok views, many of which were attained after the video went viral, likely against the governor’s best wishes.
“The pattern of behavior by Delegate Joe Jeffries is sad and it’s childish. Not only did he yell graphic comments about me to a group of senators during the recent Legislative Session, but now we find that his not-so-secret TikTok is full of disgustingly vulgar videos, which are especially insulting to women,” Gov. Justice said. “This is the behavior of an immature child, not a 39-year-old father and elected official. He owes our entire state an apology for not living up to what we all deserve and expect from our elected officials.”
Justice said he expected an apology from Jeffries, R-Putnam, by Saturday but there’s been no comment.
“So today I am calling on Joe to immediately resign from the House of Delegates. The people of West Virginia, and certainly those in Joe’s district, deserve much better.
“I agree with Speaker Hanshaw that Joe is an embarrassment to our entire state. His actions are casting another shadow of negativity on West Virginia, which is something we certainly don’t need. Our state is breaking surplus records, attracting new businesses, and moving forward in absolute leaps and bounds because people are waking up to the fact that we are the diamond in the rough that everyone missed. We don’t need this kind of nonsense to distract us from achieving more success.”
Adds statement from House Speaker Roger Hanshaw: “I believe Joe Jeffries is an embarrassment not just to the House of Delegates, but to the entire state. He has shown us more than once that he does not respect the office he was elected to serve." https://t.co/mLf27D70qZ
— Brad McElhinny (@BradMcElhinny) July 9, 2021
House of Delegates Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, sharply criticized Jeffries in a Friday evening statement and disciplined him by removing him from a vice-chairmanship position.
“As presiding officer, the only tool at my disposal to express my disgust with his repeated, reprehensible behavior is to strip him of his committee vice chairman position, which I have done today. Carrying out the will of the people is serious work, and I expect better behavior of our members, even in what they believe is their private time,” Hanshaw said.
Jeffries was first elected to the House in 2018.