State Rep. Ryan Armagost announced on Thursday afternoon that he is resigning his House seat immediately.

That resignation takes out the possibility of a censure that was expected to be brought up against him either on Thursday or Friday.

Only a member of the Colorado General Assembly can be censured, according to House rules. 

Armagost had already announced on June 30 that he intended to resign, effective Sept. 1, to take a job in Arizona.

House Speaker Julie McCluskie announced the censure resolution during a House Democratic caucus meeting on Thursday morning.

The issue had to do with Armagost taking photos of Rep. Yara Zokaie, D-Fort Collins, during a debate on April 11, Colorado Public Radio reported recently.

He shared the photo with other members of his caucus in a Signal chat. Zokaie was wearing a black blazer over a short dress and knee-high leather boots.

Republican lawmakers responded with crude comments, comparing the first-term lawmaker to a stripper and a prostitute, according to CPR.

At the time, Armagost chaired the House’s workplace harassment committee. House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, R-Colorado Springs, removed him from that position just before the CPR story broke.

The photo went viral in a social media account on X, along with crude comments.

Zokaie told CPR: “The messages very quickly escalated from name calling and vulgar remarks about my appearance and what people wanted to do to me, to threats against my family, my children, death threats, rape threats. Things got to a point where my staff needed to rotate who would check our messages because it was traumatizing to hear some of the things that people were saying.”

During the caucus meeting Thursday, Zokaie told her colleagues the photo resulted in never-ending harassment and that she got a message that listed her children’s school address that included this: “What’s going to happen to them is your fault.”

Zokaie said she went to Pugliese to talk to her about the message, and Pugliese responded that she’d find out who took the picture. 

But “she already knew” it was Armagost, Zokaie claimed, adding, “My trust in minority leadership and my Republican colleagues is completely broken.” 

“The length of my skirt does not warrant threats against my children,” Zokaie also said.

McCluskie said she had met with minority leadership to inform them of Armagost’s censure. The resolution was to be offered by House Majority Leader Monica Duran and Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon.

McCluskie told the caucus that, in her discussion with the minority leadership, “I owned that both sides of the aisle have made inappropriate social media posts, engaged in name calling.” The speaker said such behavior is beneath the office. 

What happened with Zokaie rose to the level of sexual harassment, McCluskie said.

Duran, a domestic violence survivor, said she knows first hand about being judged for how you look or dress. Duran said she had worked with Armagost on a number of issues, including domestic violence and sexual assault and that he has his own experience in an abusive relationship. That’s what made this so disappointing, Duran explained. “He should have known better…this kind of behavior, this crossing the line, is not okay,” and that she’s never seen this kind of thing in her eight years in the General Assembly.

Duran said she wants to see a new standard, and asked her colleagues to think before they open their mouths.

Pugliese is disputing comments made by both Zokaie and Duran regarding Pugliese’s actions.

“I want to be absolutely clear,” Pugliese said in a statement Thursday evening. “I did not lie to Representative Zokaie. Back in April, I informed the Majority Leader about who took the photo and told her I would address the matter with my caucus, which I did, making it clear that the behavior was unacceptable.”

Unfortunately, she continued, “it was House Democrat[ic] leadership that failed to inform Representative Zokaie. While I had hoped to preserve a bipartisan relationship with the Majority Leader, I cannot remain silent while my integrity is called into question. I have been a steadfast advocate for protecting women throughout my career, and I will not allow my character to be impugned for the sake of political games. My focus remains on working for Colorado women and families.” 

A Larimer County vacancy committee will pick Armagost’s replacement, which by law must be completed within 30 days of the resignation.

The last time a lawmaker was censured was in 2008, when then-Rep. Douglas Bruce was censured by his own caucus for inappropriate behavior. Bruce kicked a Rocky Mountain News photographer who was taking his picture on his first day in the General Assembly and during the morning prayer.

Bruce had been appointed to his seat by a vacancy committee and lost his primary bid for the seat a few months later.

The last lawmaker — and only the second to be expelled — was Rep. Steve Lebsock, D-Thornton, who was thrown out of office in 2018 after multiple allegations surfaced that he sexually harassed a fellow woman lawmaker and several female lobbyists. Lebsock changed his party affiliation hours before his expulsion, and his seat was filled by a Republican, Alexander Winkler, who lost the general election the following November.