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Leaders of Florida State University's College Republicans are facing impeachment over allegations that they embezzled $16,000 in membership dues and donations and engaged in the "overt solicitation of sexual favors in exchange for favorable board positions," according to a notice of impeachment which became public Monday.
"There is an internal investigation underway by FFCR to collect further evidence and testimony of malfeasance by past leadership, in order to correct the mistakes and set the club back on the path to complete autonomy," Cade Marsh, the chairman of the Florida Federation of College Republicans and the vice chairman of the College Republican National Committee, said in a statement to the Tab, after sending the notice. "These do not represent legal proceedings or facts necessarily, but are in the pursuit of an internal audit as to the charges. Generally, these things are rarely, if ever, made public, but given the severity of the charges brought, an immediate suspension was necessary."
The notice came after a letter, signed by the majority of the FSU College Republicans voting executive board, was delivered to the Florida Federation of College Republicans' executive board last week. In response, the FFCR re-federated the FSU chapter, suspending both its treasurer and chairman. If they are impeached, a special election will be held within 90 days. Among the more serious charges detailed in the notice of impeachment are that the chairman, James Dilmore, threatened physical violence against other members of the group and sexually harassed some who were interested in serving on the organization's board.
Dilmore is still listed as the chair of the Florida State College Republicans on the group's website, and he identified himself as such when interviewed last week for an Inside Higher Ed article about College Republicans and their support of President Trump. "I'm not part of the establishment," he said at the time. "I'm not one of those people. That's who I hate. That's why I love Donald Trump."
The notice of impeachment was first obtained by a student-run Florida State humor website called the Eggplant. Dilmore did not respond to several requests for comment on Monday. A spokesman for Florida State declined to comment, citing student privacy laws.
