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Police arrested a Republican lawmaker early Thursday morning while responding to reports of possible gunshots in Michigan’s capital city.
Lansing police spokesperson Jordan Gulkis said that Michigan state Rep. Neil Friske was arrested “for a felony-level offense” around 2:45 a.m.
Investigators plan to submit a report to the Ingham County prosecutor by Friday, according to Gulkis.
Friske’s office provided a statement on his campaign’s Facebook page, saying, “Rep Friske is always exercising his 2nd Amendment right. We ask everyone for prayers and to stay tuned for updates directly from this campaign or Representative Friske himself.”
“Friske, who is running for reelection, has a conservative voting record during his first term in the House. He represents Charlevoix and Emmet counties and portions of Cheboygan, Chippewa, and Mackinac counties. His family operates a popular fruit orchard in Charlevoix County,” the Associated Press reports.
“This morning, it was brought to our attention that Representative Friske was arrested and being held,” read a statement attributed to Friske’s campaign. “As many of us know, Rep Friske is always exercising his 2nd Amendment right. We do not have any details, besides what the media sourced, oddly before anyone of us knew anything.”
Two posts about Michigan legislation banning the use of artificial intelligence to create pornographic deepfakes appeared on Friske’s Twitter account forty minutes after his arrest. These posts highlighted Friske’s recent vote against the legislation, the Detriot News noted.
“I’m not going to cave to the pressure of special interest. I’m not afraid of the false accusations, like ‘Friske is for AI Porn’ when a bill denies THE PEOPLE their rights to properly defend themselves,” read the 3:25 a.m tweet.
BREAKING: Michigan Republican state Rep. Neil Friske was arrested early Thursday morning after he reportedly,… chased a stripper down a street near his home with a gun at 2AM,… after a “disagreement”https://t.co/MyD6gQeM8t pic.twitter.com/nkbGUjNmnV
— Roshan Rinaldi (@Roshan_Rinaldi) June 21, 2024
Parker Fairbairn is running against Friske in the Republican primary in August for the 107th House District.
Due to the impending release of absentee ballots for the August primary, Friske’s team described the arrest as “highly suspect.”
Fairbairn said in a statement that Friske should be thought to be innocent until proven guilty. He also said that he was running against Friske because of how he voted in the past.
“Neil deserves his time in court, and the people of the 107th District deserve better than Neil,” Fairbairn said.
“Friske is a first-term Republican lawmaker representing Michigan’s 107th House District, which covers all of Charlevoix and Emmet counties and portions of Cheboygan, Chippewa, and Mackinac counties, spanning across both peninsulas. He has filed for reelection and is seeking a second term in the House this fall. He is the owner of Friske and Sons Property Management, according to his website,” the Detriot Free Press reported.
“He’s also considered one of the more conservative members of the Legislature and is part of the House’s Freedom Caucus. The caucus describes itself as ‘focused on traditional conservative values and individual liberty.’ A spokesperson for House Republican Leader Rep. Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, did not immediately return a message seeking comment Thursday morning,” the outlet added.
