In a video posted on YouTube on December 17, Nearmen spoke to participants about something he called "Operation Hall Pass," stating that someone "might" be able to get into the Capitol by following steps he outlined.
“There might be some person’s number which might be [his cell phone number], but that is just random numbers... that’s not anybody’s actual cell phone. And if you say, ‘I’m at the West entrance’ during the session and text to that number there, that somebody might exit that door while you’re standing there,” said the representative in the video, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.The video is restricted to members of The Black Conservative Preacher channel.
Nearmen stressed, however, "if you accuse me of knowing anything about it, I will deny it."
At one point in the video, a woman asks Nearmen to repeat the number and he replies "Yeah, I didn't really say a number, but if I were to say a number it might have been something like ... and you'd have to say what entrance you're at, but that's not really going to happen so just don't worry about that, nobody said anything," according to CNN.
CNN said it was able to confirm that the "random numbers" in the video are actually Nearmen's cell phone.
On December 21, just a few days later, Nearman allegedly allowed protesters against coronavirus restrictions to enter the state Capitol. The protesters clashed with state police, with one protester spraying "some kind of chemical irritant," according to CNN.
Nearmen has been charged with first-degree official misconduct and second-degree criminal trespass. A charging document accuses the representative of "unlawfully and knowingly perform(ing) an act which constituted an unauthorized exercise of his official duties, with intent to obtain a benefit or to harm another," according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.