A Kansas Republican lawmaker was arrested after trying to be a substitute teacher at a public school in his hometown of Wellsville and ended up terrorizing the students, The Kansas City Star reported.
According to the news outlet, Kansas state Rep. Mark Samsel (R) berated the teens all day, pleading with them to follow God, asking them about their masturbation habits, demanding that the children he’s teaching “make babies” because “it feels good,” and claiming that a sophomore at the school is contemplating suicide because they have lesbian parents.
Samsel then allegedly grabbed one student and pushed him against the wall, and attacked another by invoking the “wrath of God,” intentionally hit him in his genitals, then invited others in the class to do it too. He has since admitted that he planned his actions but claimed that he did nothing wrong.
“High school students began recording videos of the lawmaker talking about suicide, sex, masturbation, God and the Bible,” The Star reported. The videos documented what high schoolers witnessed prior to the alleged assault.
Samsel started by ranting against LGBTQ parents, claiming that he knew an unnamed sophomore at the school “who’s tried killing himself three times,” because “he has two parents and they’re both females.”
“He’s a foster kid. His alternatives in life were having no parents or foster care parents who are gay. How do you think I’m going to feel if he commits suicide? Awful,” Samsel lectured to a classroom of students.
He then used the moment to try to force the children to commit to procreating.
“Make babies. Who likes making babies? That feels good, doesn’t it?” he implored. “Procreate…”
He asked some of the students about their masturbation habits.
“You haven’t masturbated? Don’t answer that question… God already knows,” he reportedly said.
He continued referencing suicide all day.
“I’m not going to lose one more of my kids to suicide. Are we clear?”
He later said that he repeated these “lessons” for each group of high schoolers that came to his classroom with each different period.
He asked one student, “are you doing the Lord’s work if you’re listening to the devil’s music?”
If Samsel had any control of himself, he eventually lost it. Footage reportedly showed that Samsel got into a back-and-forth with one student, facing off with the teen as they “paced around the classroom, talking back and forth.”
“You’re about ready to anger me and get the wrath of God. Do you believe me when I tell you that God has been speaking to me?”
He proceeded to push the student. The student ran away and tried to find refuge on the opposite side of the classroom.
“You should run and scream,” Samsel allegedly said.
Samsel was booked Thursday into the local county jail and released on a $1,000 bond. Franklin County Sheriff Jeffrey Richards declined to discuss the details of the incident behind Samsel’s arrest. Samsel did not answer a phone call — a message could not be left for him, and he did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
What the hell is going on with the #KSLeg this session? He shouldn’t just be terminated from substituting. He should be blocked from being around all kids. https://t.co/WkWTBanx8h
— Mayor Q (@QuintonLucasKC) April 30, 2021
