TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas House member who was arrested after videos began circulating online of him arguing with teenage students and pushing one of them while he was working as a substitute teacher has entered a not guilty plea to three counts of misdemeanor battery.
Republican state Rep. Mark Samsel on Wednesday also was given three weeks to undergo a mental health evaluation. The next hearing was set for July 12.
The charges against Samsel arose from a student reporting an April 28 incident involving Samsel in what videos showed to be a noisy classroom in his hometown of Wellsville, a town of about 1,700 people roughly 55 miles southwest of Kansas City.
