In a rare instance of a Republican showing a modicum of ethics, the Republican Speaker of the Ohio state house asked a GOP legislator to resign his seat after his arrest on two counts of domestic abuse from an incident that happened hours after the legislator and Speaker appeared at a joint fundraiser, the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

State Rep. Bob Young and his wife hosted Ohio Speaker Jason Stephens and others after the fundraiser in Summit County.  At around 1 a.m., after Stephens reportedly left the soiree, Young slapped one of his guests and then when a woman who witnessed the attack attempted to call police, he took the woman’s phone and threw it in the pool, leading to a felony charge of disrupting emergency service.

That wasn’t the end:  Young fled the house before police arrived and ended up at a relative’s house at 9 a.m. Friday, causing further disruption before someone called police, who arrived after Young fled again. 

Complicating matters:  Stephens was elected Speaker in a coup by Democrats, who partnered with 22 Republicans to elect Stephens over the favored candidate of the far-right GOP establishment, Derek Merrink.  Because independent thinking is punished in the Republican Party, the state Party voted to censure the 22 Republicans.

“I was disappointed and shocked to hear what allegedly transpired sometime after I had left the Young house,” Stephens said. “Although I believe that people are innocent until proven guilty, I asked Bob for his resignation as state representative so he can focus on his family at this time.”