Disgraced GOP lawmaker filmed hurling homophobic slurs and mocking English cop’s accent during North Dakota DUI stop avoids jail and says he WON’T resign

A Republican representative who made homophobic comments during a DUI stop in December has avoided jail time, court records show.

Nico Rios, 35, of North Dakota, was instead given a year of unsupervised probation and a $1,000 fine after pleading guilty Jan. 8 to driving under the influence.

However, the freshman from Williston did not announce any plans to resign — following calls for his swift removal following footage of the Dec. 15 arrest.

During the encounter, officers are seen walking up to a visibly drunk Rios before asking several questions. As he answers, the lawmaker is heard slurring his words and becomes entangled in a web of lies that lead him to launch threats against the police officers.

After refusing a request to take a breath test, he is handcuffed and transported to a nearby police station. At this point Rios begins to antagonize a British-born officer, making fun of his accent with a xenophobic rant about his country being “overrun by migrants.”

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“Are you proud to be English?” Rios asks Williston PD Officer Alexander Welch in the now-viral footage.

“Why is that relevant?”, the first-year police officer responds, while Rios sits handcuffed in the back of the police car.

“Because what are you doing here in North Dakota arresting people?” asks the disgraced conservative.

“Your country is being taken over by ‘damn migrants and refugees, right? Am I wrong? You arrest me for driving home while people enter your country and rape your wife. Yes or no? And I’m the fucking bad guy? Yes or no?

‘Say! Tell me, brother! Yes or no?’

Welch chooses at this point to sit in silence as an audibly irate Rios continues his racist tirade.

‘How many English women have been raped by migrants? Thousands!’ he says, citing the rise in sex crime statistics in Britain and other European countries such as Sweden following their implementation of an open-door policy towards refugees

‘Thousands a week. And you arrest me, in North Dakota,” Rios falsely claims.

“How many of your damn friends and relatives are damn cruel and terrorized by migrants. And you arrest me. Good for you, brother. Good thing I fucking got you, you bastard.”

Earlier in the clip, Rios — who took office in the final days of 2022 — threatens to call the North Dakota attorney general and tell the arresting officers that they would “regret picking me because you don’t know who… I am’ .

Once inside the station house, Rios is heard making a homophobic comment to the same officer before being booked for drunk driving and refusing to take a chemical test.

Following his release later that day, Rios posted an apologetic statement on

Officers from Williston — a city whose population has roughly doubled since 2010 — then released footage showing Rios’ behavior, fanning the figurative flames surrounding his offense.

In subsequent statements, the lawmaker expressed regret to the people in his district for what he called a “mistake,” but has not apologized to the officer he verbally assaulted.

In those statements, Rios continued to portray himself as a straight shooter before pleading guilty earlier this month as part of a previously unreported deal.

His sentence includes a 10-day suspended sentence, a mandatory evaluation and a victim impact panel. A misdemeanor charge of refusing a chemical test was dismissed. He must also pay $50 for an open container violation.

That said, even after the case against him was quashed Rios continues to face calls from his party to resign.

Last week, House Republican Majority Leader Mike Lefor removed him from the Legislature’s interim Judiciary Committee. He said it would not be fair for law enforcement officials to testify before a committee of which Rios is a member.

In response, Rios has said he is “seriously considering all aspects” of his future and plans to seek help for his alcoholism, but has announced no plans to resign.

He also previously said he takes responsibility for his “disgusting actions” and apologized “to those I have hurt and disappointed,” including law enforcement officers.

Rios has said he left a Christmas party before police pulled him over.

Currently working in an oilfield position dealing with hydraulic well fracturing, Rios was elected unopposed to a four-year term in the House of Representatives in 2022.

As of Thursday, Republicans control the House, 82-12.