It’s been a while since we’ve seen such an unfiltered and humiliating display of entitlement from a public official. But the news of Rhode Island Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Hogan Flanagan’s spectacular arrest for refusing to leave a Newport restaurant was so extreme, it made national headlines. I reported on this story here.
Video from the arresting officer’s bodycam is hard to look away from. When he refused her demand to turn it off — claiming, incorrectly, that “it’s protocol when a citizen requests it” — Hogan Flanagan repeatedly insisted, “I’m an AG, I’m an AG.”
The officer’s blunt reply the first time: “Good for you. I don’t give a sh**.”
After the video of the incident went viral on Tuesday, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, a Democrat, spoke to local radio station WPRO-AM.
Neronha was not pleased. He warned that “strong sanctions” were in store for Hogan Flanagan.
You know, look, she’s put me in a bad position. She’s embarrassed herself, humiliated herself, treated the Newport Police Department horribly. You know, she is going to take some steps to try to address that in the next day or so.But I just don’t know what I’m going to do yet, Gene, and I have to give it some more thought. But inexcusable behavior….I haven’t had many issues like this while I’ve been attorney general. I’ve had a few. I want to get some more information, frankly, about what’s going on with her before I make my final decision.
Asked by the reporter if Hogan Flanagan is currently working, Neronha replied:
I wouldn’t call them vacation days. I will tell you Gene that, in the end, there will be a suspension without pay here if I retain her, for sure. So she’s not going to continue, you know, to go on as if nothing happened in terms of salary and that kind of thing. So it’ll be a strong sanction here.
So, I just want to think it through and get all the information to make sure I’m doing the right thing. I have a responsibility here to protect the office and the work. But these are decisions that impact human beings too, so I want to take everything into account and make sure that I’m doing what I think is right and is consistent with what I’ve done in the past.
Neronha learned of the arrest shortly after it happened last Thursday night. He’s had nearly a week to “think about it.” While his initial reaction was likely one of anger, his last remark suggests he may be softening his stance.
Hogan Flanagan’s hubris — no doubt amplified by alcohol — appeared to reveal how she truly sees herself. Her identity seems tied to what she regards as her lofty position within the Rhode Island attorney general’s office.
Her behavior reflects the sense of entitlement we’ve come to expect from the elite ruling class, many of whom truly do think they are above the law.
Perhaps this incident will ultimately make her a better, more-grounded lawyer. But her behavior was so egregious that it demands punishment. While it will take a long time for her to live this episode down and she is surely experiencing intense personal embarrassment and regret, she must be made to suffer some tangible, real-world consequences for her performance.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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