Richard N. Komi is an American immigrant from Nigeria who served in the

New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 204 legislative district ...

as a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Life

Komi claims to have faced political persecution as a member of the

Ogoni people The Ogonis are a people in the Rivers South East senatorial district of Rivers State, in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria. They number just over 2 million and live in a homeland which they also refer to as Ogoniland. They share common ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. After he spent time in a refugee camp in

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

, he was brought to

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the most populous city in New Hampshire. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 115,644. Manchester is, along with Nashua, one of two seats of New Hamp ...

on September 13, 1999.

Career

Komi served as a member of the

where he represented the Hillsborough 43 district from 2008 to 2010. On November 6, 2018, Komi was again elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives where he represented the same district.

Controversy

Komi faced calls for resignation in early May 2020 after claiming that the female anatomy made Tara Reade's sexual assault claim impossible without "cooperation" from Reade. He apologized for the statement and insisted that Reade's accusation was false. He resigned from office on May 2, 2020.

References

21st-century American politicians African-American state legislators in New Hampshire American people of Nigerian descent American politicians of Nigerian descent Living people Democratic Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Nigerian emigrants to the United States Ogoni people Politicians from Manchester, New Hampshire Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American politicians {{NewHampshire-politician-stub