Michigan State Representative Neil Friske faces charges of sexual assault and weapons possession
State Rep. Neil Friske arrested: 5 things about the Michigan lawmaker
Possible charges against state Rep. Neil Friske remain under review.
LANSING — Lansing police have filed three felony charges against a Republican state lawmaker after he was arrested following a disturbance early Thursday morning, records show.
Records obtained by the Free Press on Friday through the Internet Criminal History Access Tool, the Michigan State Police’s online criminal history service, show that police have filed sexual assault, assault and a weapons charge against state Rep. Neil Friske (R-Charlevoix).
Friske, 62, who is being held at the Lansing Police Department, has not yet been arraigned and it is not clear if these are the charges he will ultimately face. An arraignment is expected Friday or Saturday. Friske’s attorney could not be reached.
Friske was arrested around 2:45 a.m. Thursday in the 2000 block of Windbreak Lane in Lansing, police spokeswoman Jordan Gulkis confirmed to the Free Press. Gulkis said officers were initially dispatched to the nearby 2100 block of Forest Road to respond to reports of a man with a gun, “as well as possible shots fired,” she said in an email.
Gulkis said Friday she could not confirm details of any potential charges and that the case file was still with the Ingham County District Attorney’s Office. A call to the prosecutor’s office was not immediately returned.
In a statement on Friske’s Facebook page, his campaign team called the arrest “highly suspicious” and added: “Friske always exercises his right to free speech under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
Friske is a first-term Republican representative representing Michigan’s 107th congressional district, which includes all of Charlevoix and Emmet counties and parts of Cheboygan, Chippewa and Mackinac counties, and spans both peninsulas. He has filed for re-election and is seeking a second term in the House in the fall. According to his website, he is the owner of Friske and Sons Property Management.
He is considered one of the more conservative members of the legislature and is part of the House Freedom Caucus. The caucus describes itself as “focused on traditional conservative values and individual freedom.”
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or [email protected]. Follow him on X, @paulegan4.
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