House Speaker Ron Mariano said calls for Rep. Chris Flanagan, the Dennis Port Democrat charged with federal fraud, to resign are “premature,” a stance that sets Mariano apart from a string of elected officials including Gov. Maura Healey who pressured Flanagan to step down last week.

Federal authorities arrested Flanagan, a second-term lawmaker, Friday on charges that he stole tens of thousands of dollars from a former employer, covered up the thefts, and then used the money to pay personal bills and fund his campaign. He pleaded not guilty to the accusations.

Mariano, who did not call on Flanagan to resign in a statement last week, said Flanagan needs to make the decision on his own because “he put his name on the ballot and ran.”

“He’s got to look at what he’s going through and whether or not he can effectively be the representative he claimed he would be … I’m waiting for (him) to be convicted so that I know that he’s guilty,” Mariano told reporters Wednesday. “I think (the calls to resign are) premature. I think some of the senators who jumped on it is a bit premature. Everyone deserves a trial.”

Mariano also pointed to federal politics in Washington.

“Look at what’s going in Washington now, people getting picked up and detained for no reason,” he said.

In a series of cascading statements shortly after Flanagan was arrested Friday, top Democrats and Republicans from across the state called on Flanagan to give up his elected position.

Healey said the allegations against the lawmaker were “serious” and “threaten to undermine the important work of the Legislature and cast doubt on his ability to faithfully serve his constituents.”

“He should resign,” the governor said only hours after the accusations became public.

Sens. Julian Cyr of Provincetown and Dylan Fernandes of Falmouth, whose districts cover nearly all of Cape Cod, both said Flanagan should resign.

“These are serious charges and the criminal justice system must respect the principle of presumed innocence, however, this news casts a shadow on the good work of the Legislature,” Cyr said. “I do not see how Chris can continue to serve the people of Brewster, Dennis, and Yarmouth. For the good of his constituents and his family, he must resign.”

Flanagan also faces a potential investigation by the Massachusetts House Ethics Committee, whose chair said Tuesday that lawmakers would launch an inquiry after Flanagan’s court proceedings wrap up.

Mariano said starting an investigation after a lawmaker’s judicial affairs concludes is standard procedure.

“The Ethics Committee is not an investigative group. They don’t have agents to send out and investigate and collect evidence and make a decision,” Mariano said.

The Quincy Democrat pointed to former Rep. Carlos Henriquez, a Dorchester Democrat, who was found guilty and sentenced to six months in jail for holding down and punching a then-girlfriend after she would not have sex with him in 2012.

An ethics investigation was opened after the former lawmaker was convicted, Mariano said, and the House eventually voted to boot him from the chamber in 2014.

“We waited until after his conviction before we opened up an ethics investigation,” said House budget chief Aaron Michlewitz, a North End Democrat.