South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg became the first elected official in state history to be impeached and removed from office Tuesday after he was convicted on two charges.
Ravnsborg, a Republican who was impeached in April for hitting and killing a pedestrian with his car in 2020, was convicted of both charges by the Republican-led state Senate. The votes were 24-9 in favor of the conviction and removal in the first charge of committing a crime that caused the death of a person and 31-2 in support of the second article, malfeasance in office.
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The legislative body also voted to bar Ravnsborg from “holding any office of trust or profit under the state,” according to CNN.
Gov. Kristi Noem celebrated the decision.
“After nearly 2 years the dark cloud over the Attorney General’s office has been lifted,” Noem tweeted after the vote. “It is now time to move on and begin to restore confidence in the office.”
A car crash on Sept. 12, 2020, resulted in the death of 55-year-old Joseph Boever. Ravnsborg reportedly called 911 after he hit something with his car, but he said he did not know what he had hit and claimed it could be a deer. The local sheriff and Ravnsborg did not see a deer or body on the scene after the incident. But Ravnsborg returned to the scene and saw human remains the following day, which he reported to the sheriff’s office, reports said.
Tuesday’s trial centered on prosecutors arguing that Ravnsborg used his position to gain influence over the investigation and lied multiple times throughout, including how often he was using his cellphone on the drive that night, how fast he was driving, and where he was when he hit Boever.
“I don’t think I really need to cite chapter and verse to a bunch of people from South Dakota about integrity and honesty — and why we don’t lie in public life,” prosecutor Mark Vargo said in his closing arguments.
Last year, Ravnsborg pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges for using a phone while driving and making an illegal lane change during the incident. A third charge was dismissed.
Ravnsborg avoided jail time and reached a settlement with the victim’s family, agreeing to pay an undisclosed amount to Boever’s widow and a $500 fine for each charge.
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Ravnsborg cooperated with law enforcement, and the misdemeanors he accepted were not impeachable offenses, his attorney, Michael Butler, argued, noting his client was not seeking reelection.
Noem will appoint a temporary attorney general to fill the vacancy until an election is held in November.
