Senator accused of public indecency says he won't resign

State Sen. Dan McKeon, who was cited last week for public indecency over an incident at a party in May, says he has no plans to resign his seat in the Legislature.

In a news release sent by his attorney, McKeon said he “made a mistake in tone, not in intent,” has apologized for his actions and remains focused on the upcoming legislative session.

“This political theater has gone too far, and the truth matters,” he said in the release. “I will continue doing my job and representing the hardworking Nebraskans — farmers, families and people of faith — who elected me to stand up for them.”

McKeon’s comments came one day after Gov Jim Pillen called on him to resign.

“I'm just waiting for his resignation. It's got to take place,” Pillen said Monday. “It's unacceptable. It's best for his family. It's unacceptable for the people of District 41 and for the state of Nebraska. He has to resign.”

McKeon, who was elected to his seat last November, has been under fire since the Nebraska State Patrol confirmed that he was cited Thursday for public indecency. McKeon was accused of touching a female staffer on her buttocks at an end-of-session party at the Lincoln Country Club in May. That staffer did not report the incident to law enforcement until September.

McKeon’s attorney, Perry Prisch, disputed that allegation, saying McKeon made a bad joke and touched the staffer on her back, not her buttocks.

“Earlier this year, at the end-of-session gathering, Senator McKeon made a single remark – a joke – to a staff member about her planned trip and hoping she and her husband would receive a ‘Hawaiian lei,’ or words to that effect, and he then patted her on the back,” Pirsch said in the news release.. “It was meant in jest and nothing about his action was in any way sexually charged or lewd; just a bad pun.”

Pirsch said nothing about the interaction fits the legal definition of public indecency, which is defined as “a lewd fondling or caressing of a person.”

“Wishing a traveler and her spouse a ‘Hawaiian lei’ is a bad joke, but also cliché, and a pat on the back is hardly objectively lewd conduct.” Pirsch said.

McKeon said he has taken responsibility for making an inappropriate joke, “But I did not engage in sexual misconduct, much less public lewd fondling or caressing.”

He accused Pillen of using the situation to attempt to install someone else in his seat in Legislative District 41.

On Monday, Tom Briese, who served as the District 41 senator from 2017-2023, resigned his position as state treasurer, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family on his farm near Albion. But he also said he was willing to “consider further public service.”

“Respectfully, the escalation of this into persons calling for resignation of my seat, of which the Governor would make a political appointment against the will of the voters in my district, is unfair and frankly inappropriate in light of the facts,” McKeon said. “I apologized for my joke and a pat on the back, but I will NOT resign.”

The apology he mentions appears to be a reference to a letter he sent to his accuser, which was released to the media by both Pirsch and an attorney for the woman he’s accused of groping.

In it, he said he was “deeply sorry for my actions at the end of session.”

“I was saying it in a joking manner, and I know that alcohol had some influence but that's no excuse, ”McKeon wrote. “The Lord knows we are all sinners, and we make mistakes. I will learn from this going forward as a freshman Senator in the Nebraska State Legislature.”