Brian Sims is speaking out against misconduct that could have exposed him and other Pennsylvania state politicians to the coronavirus.

The Democratic state representative, who is proudly gay, went on an impassioned tirade tearing down his Republican colleagues, who allegedly hid a confirmed case of COVID-19 from Democratic legislators. According to Sims, the state's GOP was aware of the infected rep—yet lawmakers still gathered in person to legislate during the crisis, putting Sims and his colleagues at risk of exposure.

"What we learned is that one of [the GOP's] members tested positive," Sims told the legislature this Thursday on the House floor. "He received that on the 20th. He took that test on the 18th. Now, I believe that most of you in this room know that the incubation period for COVID-19 is between two and 14 days. That means that the period which this member was both infected and infectious ran from May 4 through his positive test on the 18th."

Sims also spoke about the issue at length on his Facebook page, adding that GOP leaders "knew at least one of their members had tested positive" and "decided not to tell us":

Let me tell you why it matters to me. I wasn't planning on talking about this until after the election, but in January, I donated a kidney. I secretly donated a fucking kidney to somebody in my city who lives blocks away from me and was dying of renal failure. I was so proud to do it, but it was not for public consumption. ... And every single day that our gerry-mandered Republican leaders called us up into this building so they could pass these ridiculous bills pretending that it was safe to be out there, they were covering up that it wasn't safe.

The out politician went on to break down why the hidden test result—which was only revealed after other members of the legislature demanded information—put all lawmakers who interacted with him and their loved ones at risk. He also called for a full investigation into the matter by the Pennsylvania state government.

At the time of writing, his video has more than 10 million views.

Sims' claims were supported by Pennsylvania Democratic leader Frank Dermody, who said in a news release that it was "simply unacceptable that some House Republicans knew about this for more than a week and sat on that knowledge." One of his GOP colleagues, meanwhile, apparently heckled him by calling him a "little girl" when he took the House floor on Thursday.

As NewNowNext has reported at length, the COVID-19 crisis has necessitated social distancing, self-quarantining, and face mask-wearing measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus. To date, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 100,000 Americans and financially impacted countless more.

Watch Sims' full rant on Facebook below.