Friske did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
Friske had not been formally charged as of Friday afternoon. The late-night incident, which began when police were called to a report of a man with a gun and possible shots fired, remains under investigation, according to the office of Ingham County Prosecutor John J. DeWayne (D).
“During the course of the initial investigation, officers learned of a possible sexual assault against an adult female and arrested a 62-year-old man, Cornelius Friske,” DeWayne’s office said in a statement, using the lawmaker’s full name.
Police arrested Friske around 2:45 a.m. Thursday and took him into custody. The block where police said Friske was arrested is where he bought a condo in January, according to property records.
The lawmaker was released on Friday.
Hours after Friskie’s arrest early Thursday, his campaign defended him in a statement, saying, “As many of you know, Rep. Friskie exercises his Second Amendment rights at all times.”
In a statement, Friske’s campaign called the arrest suspicious because absentee ballots for Michigan’s Aug. 6 primary are due to be released soon. The campaign also accused Friske’s “opponent” of having “deep state ties,” but did not specify whether it was referring to his Republican primary opponent or the Democratic candidate vying to represent Michigan’s 107th Congressional District.
Friske’s Republican opponent, Parker Fairbairn, said in a statement Friday that Friske deserves the “presumption of innocent until proven guilty,” but called his voting record “grossly immoral.”
“Neil deserves time in court, but the people of the 107th deserve to be treated better than Neil,” Fairbairn said.
Friske, a member of the conservative Michigan House Freedom Caucus, supports hardline immigration policies and has introduced failed bills to restrict abortion access, including a bill to ban the use of prescription drugs for medication abortions.
Critics of Friskie in the Democratic-led state Legislature have called for Republican lawmakers to be held accountable, with state Rep. Phil Skaggs (Democrat) saying in a statement that if the sexual assault allegations are true, Friskie “should immediately resign from the Michigan Legislature.”
