MARION COUNTY, Ore. (KTVZ) — Three Marion County judges say they fear for their safety after a colleague’s alleged alcohol-fueled, sexist tirade at a judicial conference in Central Oregon and the discovery of a loaded, unsecured handgun under his courthouse desk.
According to reporting by The Oregonian, Marion County Circuit Judge Channing Bennett is on leave and under investigation by the state’s Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability after the April 27 incident at Sunriver Resort in central Oregon. Witnesses told investigators Bennett appeared intoxicated and repeatedly used vulgar language during a social hour at the conference.
Three female judges from the Marion County bench later told a state investigator they do not feel safe around Bennett, citing his verbal attack at the resort and noting he is known to carry a firearm. Their concerns intensified when court officials discovered a loaded handgun attached to the underside of Bennett’s desk in his courthouse chambers in Salem…