LANSING -- Police have requested that State Rep. Neil Friske be charged with three felonies stemming from his Thursday arrest, including felony sexual assault, felony assault and an unspecified felony weapon charge.
The Lansing Police Department requested Ingham County prosecutors bring those three charges against Friske following their investigation of the incident. The county prosecutor said that the investigation remains ongoing.
The prosecutor said earlier Friday that authorities learned of a “possible sexual assault of an adult female” related to the incident.
Police said yesterday that Friske had been arrested following reports early Thursday morning of a man with a gun and possible shots fired. Friske was arrested around 3 a.m. Thursday in a suburb south of Lansing.
No further details were available on the circumstances surrounding the possible charges.
Friske, a Charlevoix Republican, was released from a Lansing jail Friday afternoon. He is set to be arraigned in the coming days.
Friske’s lawyer spoke briefly with the Detroit Free Press following his release, saying they would allow the legal process to play out and that he maintained Friske’s innocence.
Spokespeople for the House GOP and MIGOP declined to comment.
Friske’s campaign team released a statement on social media early Thursday afternoon claiming that the arrest may have been politically motivated.
“This morning, it was brought to our attention that Representative Friske was arrested and being held. As many of us know, Rep. Friske is always exercising his 2nd Amendment right,” they wrote. “We do not have any details, besides what has the media sourced, oddly before anyone of us knew anything.”
The statement continued that the timing of the arrest was “highly suspect,” considering its proximity to the August 6 primary election and that an organization had recently conducted polling between Friske and his Republican opponent Parker Fairbairn.
Friske was elected to represent the state’s 107th House District in 2022 and is currently running for reelection. His district includes Charlevoix, Petoskey, East Jordan, St. Ignace and Mackinaw City.
He is considered one of the most conservative House members, often voting against legislation with broad bipartisan support.
