GOP lawmaker arrested for exposure was allegedly 'breathing heavy' and 'touching himself' in shop

A Republican state senator in West Virginia was recently arrested for lewd public behavior in a beer and tobacco store, and new details are emerging about what led up to the arrest.

According to Law & Crime, state senator Mike Maroney was arrested in the game room of Gumby's Cigarette and Beer World in Glen Dale, West Virginia for allegedly exposing himself in public. The outlet reported that when law enforcement arrived on site, two of the store's female employees pointed them in the direction of the two-term Republican, who was at a gaming machine in the back room of the store.

"It was reported that Mr. Maroney was in one of the gaming rooms masturbating," the official complaint read. "They stated that Mr. Maroney was in the back room on machine nine ... he had come out to the ATM machine and was breathing heavy and was touching himself."

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At that point, officers reportedly approached Maroney, who was at a video poker machine, and asked him what he was doing. The police report alleges that the Republican lawmaker pushed back on claims of lascivious conduct from the store's employees.

"I advised him that the attendants had witnessed him masturbating. He got defensive and advised he hadn’t," one officer stated in the complaint. "I advised him they have cameras all over and had seen him on camera. He still denied his actions and stated he’d just leave, he asked if he could finish his current game. He finished what he was doing and left the establishment."

"There were numerous times where he would put his hands in his pants and begin to masturbate. At approximately 1:04 p.m. it was very evident that Mr. Maroney was in the act of masturbating," read the complaint.

Marshall County prosecutors have charged Maroney with one count of indecent exposure and one count of disorderly conduct. In the wake of the charges, Maroney was removed from his position as chairman of the West Virginia Senate Health and Human Resources Committee.

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This isn't the state senator's first brush with the law. In 2019, he was arrested for allegedly soliciting prostitution in Glen Dale. Democrats unsuccessfully pushed for him to be removed from his office, and the charges were ultimately dropped.

Maroney's latest arrest comes just months after he was ousted in the Republican primary for West Virginia's 2nd senate district, which stretches from as far south as Grantsville up to Wheeling (near the Ohio and Pennsylvania borders). According to Ballotpedia, electrician Christopher Rose defeated Maroney in the May 14 primary by nearly 3,000 votes in an extremely one-sided 61-38 margin of victory.

Rose, who has not previously held elected office, is running unopposed in the November 5 general election. His website describes him as a former volunteer for Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), as well as a volunteer for former President Donald Trump's 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He will be one of 31 Republicans in the 34-member state senate.

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Click here to read Law & Crime's full report, and click here to read the official criminal complaint.