GOP official with multiple sexual misconduct allegations joined JD Vance’s Michigan presser

During a press conference in Michigan on Wednesday, Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance spoke with Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido, a former Republican state representative with numerous sexual harassment claims filed against him.

The press conference was held in front of the Shelby Township Police Headquarters on Wednesday afternoon, and it was focused on public safety. Lucido and Vance shared the stage together.

“Macomb County residents and businesses must rely on law enforcement to keep them safe and free from harm by others,” Lucido said. “As the Macomb County prosecutor, I am committed to bringing wrongdoers to justice.”

After Lucido’s words, the Ohio senator returned to the podium and said, “Look these guys are doing a good job.”

Throughout his career, Lucido has been accused of sexual harassment, offensive comments and inappropriate touching from female colleagues and coworkers. In 2020, while Lucido was a state senator, he told reporter Allison Donahue that she should “stick around” because he knew a group of teenage boys who could “have a lot of fun with you.” The incident prompted bipartisan calls for an investigation and an apology from Lucido that he later retracted on the claim that he was misquoted.

In January 2020, Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) filed a sexual harassment complaint against Lucido stemming from an incident in 2018 where Lucido allegedly grabbed her lower back and grazed her hip with his fingers when they first met. The incident happened on the same day Lucido spoke at a sexual harassment orientation, saying that the culture is “just the way it is.”

In the same month, Lucido received a third sexual harassment complaint, this time for inappropriately touching, staring and commenting about a woman’s appearance for an extended period of time. A Senate investigation into these three allegations found them credible enough for Lucido to be stripped of his chairmanship of the Advice and Consent Committee and asked to repeat sexual harassment training.

However, Lucido was still allowed to chair the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee. A liberal political group called Progress for Michigan criticized the punishment for not going far enough, and a spokesperson said, “Any decent workplace would fire someone for showing a pattern of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior.” Lucido continued to maintain that he did not do anything wrong after the investigation.

This pattern continued after Lucido was elected the prosecutor of Macomb County in November 2020. Sexual harassment claims were brought forward by a judge and at least one employee from Lucido’s office. An investigation into the prosecutor’s office resulted in nine people corroborating “brutal” and “rude” remarks made by Lucido to female employees, with one claiming that Lucido was “boisterous when speaking to male employees, but that he treats female administrative staff much worse.”

In addition to sexist remarks, Lucido also reportedly stated that he wanted to assign a Black prosecuting attorney for the “Shelby Five” case so “those people” could not complain that he was being unfair.