Two nights before Christmas, deputies responded to a Raleigh County home where Brandon Steele, named this week as the new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, was under the effects of alcohol, armed with a rifle and ready to confront a driver he perceived as a threat.
Steele’s wife and children were scared, and deputies responded to the home. Everything blew into public view this week.
“I regret it, yes,” Steele said Wednesday night in a telephone interview. “But at the same time, I’m always going to defend my house.”
A police report filed by the deputies specifies that Brianne Steele, the delegate’s wife and the elected clerk of the Raleigh County courts system, stated that he “did not at any time threaten her or her children.”
But the report also characterized her as observing that Steele is “a severe alcoholic” and “extremely paranoid.”
Deputies advised Brianne “how to obtain a mental hygiene” screening “if she chose to do so.” The report concluded by saying “Brianne then decided to leave for the night with their children to allow Brandon to sober up.”
The police report and related calls to 911 came to the attention of members of the House of Delegates and West Virginia reporters this week just as Steele was announced as the new chairman of the Judiciary Committee, a high-profile position where judgment is a key attribute.
Steele did not attend a Wednesday session of the House of Delegates, which was officially forming and selecting leaders, although he said his absence occurred because of a snowstorm that had canceled school this week, leaving his children at home and requiring his presence to keep an eye on them.
House Speaker Roger Hanshaw on Wednesday only became aware of this situation late Tuesday and had not yet spoken with Delegate Steele so he cannot speculate further, according to Ann Ali, communications director for the House of Delegates.
In a long MetroNews telephone call with both Brandon and Brianne Steel on Wednesday evening, each assessed that night as bad and said that Brandon Steele’s behavior was poor. They noted, though, that he was not arrested. Brianne again said he had not threatened her or their three children, although the circumstances scared all of them.
Brandon Steele, calling in response to a text message, spoke on the telephone first. He then handed the telephone to Brianne, who said she wanted the opportunity to discuss what had happened.
Brianne emphasized that although the events spiraled into public discourse, no one except the police had asked for her side of what happened.
“What I believe is unfair is for no one to give me a chance to talk or ask me anything or approach me with anything and to run with something when it’s not that hard to look and see he wasn’t arrested and nothing was filed,” Brianne Steele said.
“It was a bad night. It was a bad night. Everybody’s got bad nights, and everything’s been calm since then. But to try to stir it up when you know you don’t have anything and you try to embellish it and add lies, that’s when things really get troublesome.”
Brianne said she was in another part of the house when her husband started getting worked up that night. So she did not know at first what was happening.
“If he’s going to go outside armed, he feels threatened and he’s ready to go,” Brianne Steele said. “So I don’t know what’s going on. I wasn’t out there. I didn’t see it. I wasn’t part of that area of the house and the situation; I was in the back.
“I can only assume, though, that when somebody walks outside with rifles, you’re not going to do that unless you are ready to go. So at that point I don’t know if he’s going to start shooting and somebody else is going to start shooting, and here I am in the house with three little kids. That’s not safe, and 911 definitely needs to be called. And it was very scary.”
In his description, Brandon Steele cited the context of threats that he and his family have faced over a period of years, mostly associated with his legal work in the community. He acknowledged drinking at home that night, around the holidays, and said he became agitated over a vehicle outside the house that he perceived as a threat.
“I was sitting on the couch, 10 o’clock at night, watching a movie,” he said. “The kids were in the back, getting ready for bed. Brianne was in the back, helping them get ready for bed. I saw a vehicle that I had noticed before, he followed me around. It was a suspicious vehicle.”
Steele said the vehicle drove away but then returned. So he confronted the driver.
“I went to the safe and got my rifle and went outside. I told her before I went outside, ‘This person’s out there again; I’m going back out,” Steele recalled.
Steele said he asked the driver’s intent and got a response “We’re just looking at Christmas lights.”
“I said, ‘You need to move along,’ and they drove off,” Steele said. “I was pretty worked up. That’s stressful. I came back in. Kids obviously were scared.”
The Steeles said the calls to 911 came from their son, who had thought there was a break-in attempt to the home. Brianne wound up doing most of the talking on two calls with emergency dispatchers. After the second call, the deputies came to check on the household.
“My aim of the evening was not to call 911 and start trouble,” Brianne Steele said.
Brandon Steele is a Republican who has been chosen by Raleigh County citizens to represent them in the Legislature since 2018. He faces public scrutiny over what happened because he is an elected representative in line to hold sway over the Judiciary Committee and its influence over West Virginia law.
He said he understands that.
“As much as I regret the 23rd, I wasn’t arrested. I wasn’t charged with anything. This getting spun into some domestic incident — that didn’t happen. I felt threatened and approached a threat. Did I do it in the best way? Absolutely not. I really wish I could take that back, but I can’t. I’ve got to own it.
“I think that’s what you would expect out of somebody that represents you and someone who has such a pivotal position — that, ok, if you’re going to take action you’d better own it.”
The final question to Brianne was about Brandon Steele’s decision-making, both in his home and as the Judiciary chairman: “Can you vouch for his judgment?”
Her response: “If you wanted to base it off that night, then I would say no. But any other night, yes, absolutely.
“He’s so passionate about his role. He takes it extremely seriously. He always has. He’s worked for this for years. He loves it, and I know he would not jeopardize that or take anything that would have even hinted at detriment, you know.”