Arkansas Republican Scandals | Updated List of GOP Scandals in AR

Arkansas Republican Executive Branch Scandals
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11/30/09
Commuted the sentence of a man who later went on to kill four police officers execution style in Lakewood, WA in a crime that wouldn't have happened if the criminal had to complete his 95-year sentence for burglary and robberyAccording to news reports from credible media outlets
Arkansas Republican State Legislator Scandals
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Jeremy HutchinsonFmr. State Senator [R-AR]25 Years in GOP
2/03/23
Illegally spent over $100,000 in campaign contributions on personal expenses and then tried to cover it up by filing numerous false tax returnsHe pleaded guilty to tax and wire fraud and was sentenced to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay over $350,000 in fines
12/30/22
Failed to pay over $625k in court-ordered child support even after a judge found he easily had the finances to do so and was held in contempt of court and jailed until he paid it off in fullAccording to court documents reported by local newspapers
6/25/19
Accepted cash bribes totaling over $150,000 from the co-owner of orthodontic clinics in exchange for his efforts to help overturn a dental practices law he didn't likeAllegedly according to reporting from credible media outlets
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Jake FilesFmr. State Senator [R-AR]
1/29/18
Pocketed $46,500 in state grants designated for community upgrades by manipulating the bidding process to award his company a contract for work that was never doneAccording to charging documents filed by federal officials
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Jon WoodsFmr. State Senator [R-AR]
3/01/17
Directed roughly $600,000 in taxpayer money to a Christian college and another non-profit organization in exchange for a large financial payoff that was facilitated through a third-party consulting company who concealed the bribesAllegedly according to reporting from credible media outlets
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Micah NealFmr. State Representative
1/05/17
Received a $38k bribe to funnel $600k in government funds to a private evangelical Christian college and another non-profit organizationAccording to charging documents filed by federal officials
Other Arkansas Republican Scandals
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Anthony BoenFmr. Sheriff [R-AR]
3/12/22
Slammed a detainee onto the floor and ripped his hair during an interrogation and later asked corrections officers who witnessed the assault to lie about what they saw to investigatorsAccording to charging documents filed by federal officials3/12/22
Punched a detainee in the head multiple times with a closed fist while they were shackled to a bench and returned a short time later to punch him in the head a second time before spitting on him and later asked corrections officers who witnessed the assault to lie about what they saw to investigatorsAccording to charging documents filed by federal officials
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Scott FinkbeinerFmr. Sheriff [R-AR]
2/14/25
Consumed crystal meth at a drug house he drove to in his marked police vehicle while dressed in uniform and then lied to federal investigators when they questioned him12/18/23
Unbuttoned his pants and forced his victim to manually stimulate him while high on crystal meth at a local drug house after he unsuccessfully propositioned her for sex while also being marriedAccording to charging documents filed by state and federal officials
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Jimmy StephensFmr. Sheriff [R-AR]
10/25/23
Was caught with unprescribed pain killers, smokable marijuana and marijuana butter in his patrol car after the FBI requested that the Arkansas state police pull him over because they had just witnessed him exit a suspected drug house under their surveillanceAccording to charging documents filed by local police