Michigan Rep. Neil Friske says after arrest he was ‘framed’

Lansing –Michigan Rep. Neil Friske, who was arrested last week and remains under investigation, said on a radio program Monday that he has done nothing wrong and will not leave his seat in the Michigan House.

Friske, a Republican from Charlevoix, was arrested early Thursday morning near a home he owns in Lansing after police responded to “a report of a man with a gun, as well as possible shots being fired,” according to Lansing police .

He was released from jail Friday when Ingham County Prosecutor John Dewane’s office asked Lansing police to further investigate claims of assault, battery and a weapons crime.

Monday morning, as the investigation continued, Friske appeared on the conservative radio program “Your Defending Fathers” in northern Michigan.

“I can’t really comment on the details of things,” Friske said during the interview. “But… just the way the events unfolded, it became very clear to me that something was wrong and that I was being framed and tried to be framed and framed.

“And that’s how these people work, you know? And it’s just so frustrating. I just think it’s amazing how desperate people are that they’ll go to this kind of length to try to destroy someone.”

It was not clear which people Friske accused of trying to entrap him, or what evidence, if any, he had to support the claims. Friske also gave little information during the interview about the events that led to police arresting him after he was dispatched around 2:45 a.m. Thursday.

On Monday’s radio show, Friske said he had a “long road ahead” but was “very optimistic.”

Randy Bishop, the host of “Your Defending Fathers,” said he had received 250 to 400 text messages in support of Friske, who faces a primary challenge in August.

“People see right through this,” Friske said. “It’s an ancient game that’s not even new.”

The first-term lawmaker also said he planned to travel to Lansing Monday evening for the week’s legislative sessions, which were set to begin Tuesday.

“My campaign is full steam ahead. I am not suspending my campaign,” Friske said Monday. “I know there are naysayers telling me that I should resign, that I should suspend (my campaign). I won’t do that. That’s not what God wants me to do. That’s not the message I’m getting. of my supporters.

“And I didn’t do anything wrong, so why the hell would I do that?”

On Thursday, state Rep. Phil Skaggs, D-East Grand Rapids, called on Friske to resign depending on what happened.

“I call on Rep. Friske to look at his conscience and do the right thing,” Skaggs wrote Thursday on X, formerly Twitter. “If these allegations are true, Friske should immediately resign from the Michigan House.”

Dewane, the Ingham County prosecutor, last week asked Lansing police to further investigate the allegations against Friske before making a decision on whether to approve charges. On Monday, Dewane said he had no timeline for the completion of the investigation.

A Lansing Police spokeswoman said Monday there were no new updates in the department’s investigation.

Friske, the owner of Friske & Sons Property Management, is 62 years old. He was first elected to the Michigan House in November 2022. His district includes Charlevoix and Emmet counties and parts of Cheboygan, Chippewa and Mackinac counties.

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