Free Republic

Members of Missouri's legislative black caucus on Thursday elected state Rep. Steven Roberts, D-St. Louis, to chair the group — but Roberts' ascension drew criticism from one of his colleagues who two years ago accused Roberts of raping her. Rep. Cora Faith Walker, D-Ferguson, announced Thursday on Facebook that she was leaving the caucus. "I have resigned from the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus," Walker wrote. "I stand in my truth and am incredibly grateful to my colleagues who stand with survivors."

Four sentences in a letter to Speaker of the House Todd Richardson are about to turn the Missouri political world upside down. “My name is Cora Faith Walker. I will be in the Capitol in January as the Representative of the 74th District. Earlier this week, I reported a sexual assault to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. I named my rapist as Steven Roberts, Jr., who hopes to be in the Capitol in January as the Representative of the 77th District.” On Friday night, Walker, 31, a Ferguson attorney who won the Democratic primary for her seat in August,...