Jennifer Carnahan, chairperson for the Republican Party of Minnesota, announced Thursday night that she will resign.

The announcement came as party officials voted on whether or not she should be removed due to her ties to an alleged sex trafficker, and the handling of sexual harassment allegations.

“I’m not going to stand for my name, professional and personal, being defamed in this way,” Carnahan told WCCO Radio Wednesday. “It just simply is wrong.”

Republican lawmakers, and even members of the board, say there needs to be a full investigation into all of these claims.

But her critics were stunned by the decision to pay Carnahan ($38,150) on her way out the door. Sheri Auclair, a GOP activist who was in the room during the vote, said she was “disgusted” that Carnahan received a severance package. Earlier Thursday, she urged fellow Republicans to protest outside the Minnesota GOP Headquarters in Edina.

“This party is in ruins,” she said, at one point moved to tears. “As a past large donor to this state, to know money that I gave is going into her pocket because it’s the only way she’ll walk away, is for money — don’t tell me she cares anything about the party. She only cares about herself and money in her pocket.

The board moved to approve launching an independent investigation into claims that sexual harassment allegations were swept under the rug and the party’s Human Resources department failed to respond adequately. On Sunday, they had already approved an audit of the party’s finances because of Lazzaro’s contributions.

The State Central Committee will need to convene a meeting to select a new party chair.