Mississippi Lawmaker Allegedly Punched His Wife Over Sex and Threatened to Kill a Dog

A Mississippi lawmaker was arrested for allegedly punching his wife in the face when she wouldn’t take off her clothes quickly enough. Now some of his colleagues want him to resign.

State Rep. Douglas McLeod, a 58-year-old Republican from the small town of Lucedale in southern Mississippi, was apprehended after his wife called the local sheriff’s office Saturday night. When cops showed up, according to a police report seen by the Biloxi Sun-Herald, the legislator was holding a drink in his hand and appeared drunk.

After police told him they were there to respond to a domestic assault, McLeod allegedly responded: “Are you kidding me?” His wife was shaking and visibly frightened, cops wrote, and there was blood in their bedroom on both the floor and the bed, according to the Sun-Herald. He also allegedly threatened to kill the dog of another woman in the house after she tried to help his wife. (It’s unclear what that woman’s relationship is to the family.)

McLeod was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor count of domestic violence, and is currently out on a $1,000 bail. He hasn’t publicly commented yet on the alleged assault. His office did not immediately respond to a VICE News request for comment.

McLeod is up for re-election this year, according to the Jackson Free-Press, but he's currently running unopposed for a seat he’s held since 2012. This year, he co-sponsored a bill that would have banned abortions after detection of a fetal heartbeat along with 23 other Republicans in the state. He also runs a tire shop in his hometown. Mississippi State Sen. David Blount wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning that “Rep. McLeod should resign.” Soon after, the state House speaker Philip Gunn said in a statement that he’d unsuccessfully tried to get ahold of McLeod to ask for his resignation if the allegations are true.

“These actions are unacceptable for anyone,” Gunn said.

Cover: In a Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017 photo, Rep. Doug McLeod questions a health care witness at a House Medicaid Committee hearing, at the Capitol in Jackson, Mississippi. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)