Lansing police investigating alleged sexual assault in Friske case as investigation continues
Lansing police are investigating a possible sexual assault in connection with the arrest of state Rep. Neil Friske early Thursday morning, the Ingham County District Attorney’s Office said Friday.
According to a Michigan State Police online search function, Lansing police filed an arrest warrant with Ingham County District Attorney John Dewane’s office on Thursday, seeking charges of sexual assault, assault and a weapons offense.
Dewane said Friday he had reviewed the initial investigation and asked police to continue their investigation. He said his office would continue to work with police.
“During the initial investigation, police officers learned of a possible sexual assault of an adult female and subsequently arrested a 62-year-old man, Kornelius Friske,” Dewane said in a statement.
No criminal charges were filed.
Friske, R-Charlevoix, was released from jail Friday, Lansing police spokesman Jordan Gulkis said.
Friske’s lawyer Edwar Zeineh issued a statement on Friday afternoon regarding his client’s release from police custody.
“Representative Friske was released from custody without being charged with a crime,” Zeineh said. “Representative Friske believes in God, in the American Constitution, and in the rights it provides to citizens, including due process, the presumption of innocence, and the right to counsel. We look forward to the precise facts that exonerate Representative Friske.”
More: GOP Rep. Friske arrested on unknown charges after police receive report of man with gun
Officers were dispatched to the 2100 block of Forest Road early Thursday morning after receiving a report of a man with a gun and possible shots fired, Lansing police said Thursday. Friske, 62, owns a condo nearby, public records show.
Gulkis said Thursday that Friske was arrested at the scene on Thursday “for a felony-level offense.”
Friske is in his first term and represents the 107th District in Charlevoix and Emmet counties and parts of Mackinac and Chippewa counties in the Upper Peninsula. Friske’s campaign posted a statement on Facebook at noon Thursday about the arrest, noting that a firearm was involved. The campaign thanked people for their concern and support and asked for prayers.
In the Republican primary on August 6, he will face Parker Fairbairn of Harbor Springs.
Friske is one of the most conservative members of the Michigan House of Representatives and is a member of the Michigan House Freedom Caucus. According to Friske’s biography, he and his brother run Friske Orchards in Ellsworth.
The legislator is the owner of Friske & Sons Property Management, A Harbor Springs business he founded in 1998, according to state records.
Friske is not married and, according to Hoadley, previously rented a home in Lansing with Republican state Rep. Mike Hoadley (Au Gres) until he bought a condo in December.
“Because he was single, he never brought women home or got up to any mischief,” Hoadley told The Detroit News on Thursday. “I thought he always seemed to be on the straight and narrow. As far as I know, he doesn’t drink.”
Hoadley said deputies are waiting to learn more about the incident that led to Friske’s arrest “and find out what really happened.”
In a social media post Friday morning, Democratic Rep. Phil Skaggs of East Grand Rapids called for Friske’s resignation.
“While we don’t yet know all the details of the incident, Neil Friske himself knows exactly what happened,” Skaggs wrote Thursday on X, formerly Twitter.
“I urge Representative Friske to listen to his conscience and do the right thing. If these allegations are true, Friske should immediately resign from the Michigan House of Representatives.”
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