1. United States
2. Md.
3. Letter

I am writing to urgently bring to your attention a serious issue regarding the conduct of certain members of the Maryland General Assembly and the failure of the Maryland Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics to address it appropriately. As a Baltimore County resident, I am deeply concerned about the abuse of power and the failure to uphold ethics. My complaint, filed on June 10, 2024, alleges that Delegates Lauren Arikan, Robin Grammer, Kathy Szeliga, and Ryan Nawrocki misused their positions to interfere with the rights of a teacher in Baltimore County for their participation in a peaceful protest and online commentary. On March 27, 2025, I received a letter noting that the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics had reviewed my complaint on February 17, 2025. However, the committee's response is wholly inadequate. They failed to provide any evidence that the delegates’ actions were lawful or appropriate. The committee also failed to address or even acknowledge the factual inaccuracies in the delegates’ letter, which included false and damaging claims that the teacher had made death threats and misused school property. These lies were deliberately intended to harm the teacher’s reputation and career and to justify retaliatory action. Let me be clear: whether or not the teacher was eventually fired, the damage caused by these false and malicious claims is real, ongoing, and irreparable. The Ethics Committee has done nothing to address the harm caused by these actions, and their dismissal of my complaint without properly considering the facts raises serious concerns about the integrity of the review process. This failure to hold the delegates accountable for their actions—actions that clearly violated ethical standards and may have been unlawful—demands immediate attention. The Maryland General Assembly cannot stand by and allow its members to use their positions to retaliate against citizens for exercising their First Amendment rights. Furthermore, the failure of the Ethics Committee to thoroughly investigate and take appropriate action only reinforces the need for a higher level of oversight. In light of this, I am escalating my complaint to the Maryland State Ethics Commission for immediate and thorough review. I urge you to take swift and decisive action to address this grave injustice and ensure that government officials in Maryland are held accountable for unethical and unlawful conduct, especially when it comes to the fundamental rights of our citizens. The letter regarding this matter from the Ethics Committee was signed by Delegates Charles E. Sydnor III and J. Sandy Bartlett, with a cc to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Delegates. The lack of accountability thus far is unacceptable, and I expect you to take action to prevent further violations of ethics and the rights of Maryland residents.