In This State You're Better Off Smoking Weed Than A Cigarette: State Rep. Arrested For Lighting Up At County Fair

When State Rep. James Hieb (R) went to the Clackamas County Fair this past week to greet constituents and eat some homemade pie, he instead ended the night in handcuffs after a row with a female fairgoer.

As Hieb was leaving the fairgrounds, he decided to light up…a cigarette, that is, and that’s when his night went south.

Hieb said he was standing at an exit near the fairgrounds rodeo arena when a woman told him to put the cigarette out.

“I guess I kind of I blew her off,” Hieb said, reported various Oregon outlets. “She said, ‘I’m getting the cops.’” And she did.

Gun-Toting Tobacco User...Not Very Portlandia

When the Portland police approached, Hieb told them he was a state rep and pointed to the campaign shirt he was wearing. He also told the cops he was carrying a concealed weapon, for which he has a permit as former Marine.

“That could have raised some hairs on their necks,” Hieb said.

The cops put him in handcuffs and disarmed him.

“I was really caught off guard. I would never in a million years would have thought I’d get arrested over a cigarette," Hieb said. "The woman was kind of a Karen. It was kind of a minimal interaction with her—I didn’t think it would escalate.”

After arresting him, police booked Hieb at the Clackamas County Jail for  disorderly conduct and interfering with a peace officer. They shortly thereafter released him on his own recognizance.

“It wasn’t the way I saw my evening ending,” Hieb says. “I’ve worked so hard to help my community over the years, and it may have just gone up in smoke.”

Hieb was appointed to represent Oregon House District 39 by Clackamas and Marion County commissioners — replacing House Minority Leader Christine Drazan, who stepped down to run for governor.

House Republican leaders issued a statement after the kerfuffle, which local press noted was not Hieb’s first run-in with the law: “Leadership team is disappointed by the events that led to his arrest and do not condone them. Leadership encourages him to focus on his family and to get the assistance he needs.”

Photo: Clackamas County Fair webpage