Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed into law Tuesday a bill that grants the Independent Commission investigating the Oct. 25, 2023 mass shootings in Lewiston subpoena power.
[RELATED: Mills’ Lewiston Shooting Commission Seeks Power to Force Testimony from U.S. Military Personnel…]
The bipartisan legislation, which was sponsored by all four of Maine’s legislative leadership and passed the Legislature unanimously Tuesday, will grant the Independent Commission the power to obtain documents and compel witness testimony in the course of their investigation.
“With my signature, the bill is now law, and the Independent Commission now has the power of subpoena,” Gov. Mills said Tuesday. “I thank the Legislature for working with the Attorney General and me to deliver the Independent Commission the authority it needs to conduct a thorough examination of the facts surrounding the tragedy in Lewiston.”
The seven-member Independent Commission to Investigate the Facts of the Tragedy in Lewiston was established via executive order by Gov. Mills in November, and has since held several public meetings to hear testimony from the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office, Lewiston and Lisbon Police, and the family members of victims.
The Commission requested subpoena power in their first organizational meeting in November, and has indicated that they are encountering difficulty getting some individuals to testify.
“As the Commission has undertaken its investigation, it has encountered several individuals who have either refused to appear, or who have been directed not to appear by their superiors,” Ann Jordan, Executive Director of the Commission, told the Judiciary Committee in January.
“Other situations have arisen where persons have refused to turn over records in their possession absent a legally binding order,” Jordan said, adding that the Commission had “run into some issues” with the U.S. Army.
Lewiston shooter Robert R. Card, Jr., was a U.S. Army reservist, and his erratic behavior and assaults on his fellow soldiers during training at West Point in New York led to his two-week stay at psychiatric hospital.
[RELATED: Lewiston Shooter Robert Card’s Army Reserve Unit Was Filled with Cops…]
Army personnel also sought to restrict Card’s access to firearms and hand grenades during training sessions after one of his fellow soldiers reported that Card had made a threat to shoot up a military installation in Saco.
The Commission is scheduled to hear from U.S. Army personnel during their next meeting on Thursday, March 7.
The meeting will take place in the Deering Building, room 101, at 90 Blossom Lane in Augusta.
