Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Resigned After Harassment Claim: Report

Former Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Bryan Rice, who resigned abruptly last month, was accused of exhibiting “aggressive and intimidating behavior” toward a female employee while at his post, according to an email obtained by Talking Points Memo. BIA Freedom of Information Act officer Jessica Rogers reportedly sent out an email blast to tribal leaders on March 26, urging them to “submit [FOIA] requests to the Interior Department for the video of the alleged incident.” Rodgers wrote that Rice “pointed his finger in [her] face in a harassing and bullying manner,” and said she believes that the confrontation was caught on video by a surveillance camera. She also called Rice “an insidious perpetrator of harassment[.]” Between March 26 and April 3, five FOIA requests were filed for video of the alleged incident. Rice resigned on April 24 with no explanation. A BIA spokesperson told reporters that the agency does not discuss “personnel matters in the press.”