A Tennessee Democrat has been convicted on fraud charges and was expelled from the State Senate on Wednesday.
State Sen. Katrina Robinson of Memphis was accused and convicted of wire fraud last fall after stealing a sum of $600,000 from a health care school she ran. Robinson reportedly spent the money on her wedding and other personal expenses before taking office.
According to FOX 13 of Memphis, state senators voted 27-5 for Robinson’s expulsion on Wednesday after a recommendation from the Ethics Committee.
In a statement on Wednesday, Senate Speaker Randy McNally said: “While the expulsion of a Senator for the first time in history was not something any of us wished to see, it was a necessary action. The integrity of the Senate is of paramount importance.”
However, Robinson called her dismissal a “procedural lynching,” claiming the process was “racist” and “misogynistic” and argued about other state senators who committed a similar offense but have not been expelled.
“They determined she violated a criminal statute,” Republican state Sen. John Stevens said of her conviction. “How can we demand that citizens respect the integrity and reputation of the Senate if we disrespect them by ignoring their determinations?”
She and other Democrats argued the vote should be postponed until March, when she is sentenced on two charges. A judge acquitted Robinson on 15 of 20 charges and a jury convicted her on four of the five charges of wire fraud.
Robinson was ultimately convicted on just two of the 20 counts, involving $3,400 in wedding expenses in 2016, according to FOX 13.
“I feel beat up standing in front of you guys,” Robinson said. “And really I didn’t prepare any words because there are no words for what this is.”
Robinson, 41, who was in her first term after being elected to the Senate in 2018, represented Tennessee’s 33rd state Senate district, composed of portions of Memphis and nearby suburbs.
