Marshall County Senator Charged with Public Indecency After Alleged Incident at Glen Dale Casino – Real WV

By Matthew Young, RealWV

GLEN DALE, W.Va. – Sen. Mike Maroney, R-Marshall, was arrested Tuesday on charges of public nuisance and disorderly conduct. Maroney's arrest came more than a week after the two-term senator was allegedly caught on surveillance video masturbating at a Glen Dale casino.

The incident reportedly occurred shortly after noon on August 4.

In a statement released Wednesday morning, Republican Senate President Craig Blair of Berkeley expressed concern for Maroney, noting, “The facts that have come to light are disturbing and I am disappointed.”

“However, our primary focus at this time is the well-being of Senator Maroney,” Blair added.

While Blair describes Maroney as “our friend and colleague” in his statement, the Senate President goes on to say that he has removed Maroney from all committee assignments with immediate effect.

“In order to give him (Maroney) sufficient time to attend to his personal matters, I have removed him from his position as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Resources and relieved him of all other committee assignments,” Blair said. “Like all citizens, Senator Maroney is entitled to a fair hearing as this matter works its way through the legal system. We join in prayers for our friend Mike and his family as he grapples with these matters.”

Maroney was defeated by Chris Rose in the May 14 Republican primary. Barring a last-minute party switch and re-election by an independent — or Gov. Jim Justice calling a special session — Maroney's term will end before the next scheduled meeting of a Senate committee, making his removal from those committees irrelevant.

Blair concludes his statement by saying: “The allegations are still under investigation, but if they are true, they clearly do not meet the expectations we have of our elected officials in the state of West Virginia.”

According to a report from MetroNews' Jeff Jenkins published Wednesday morning, Maroney has been released from the Northern Regional Jail, is currently out of $3,500 bail and will appear before a justice of the peace “in the near future.”

Maroney was previously charged with similar allegations in 2019, but those charges were dropped in 2021 due to lack of evidence.

RealWV will provide updates on this situation as more information becomes available.