RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A vote to impeach the president of South Dakota’s Oglala Sioux Tribe has failed.
The tribal council needed a two-thirds vote, or 14 votes to impeach Julian Bear Runner.
The vote Monday was 11-5 with five council members abstaining.
The council earlier suspended Bear Runner after he was accused of inappropriate sexual contact with a teenager.
Bear Runner has denied the accusations.
The tribal president has also served a 30-day paid suspension because the tribal council could not reach him after he enacted a 72-hour coronavirus lockdown.
He also pleaded not guilty after he was arrested in May for driving while drunk and threatening a man.