Sarah Palin's son Track arrested on domestic violence charges
Former Alaska governor's son prosecuted on a charge of misdemeanor criminal mischief for causing up to $500 in property damage
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The oldest son of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has been arrested in Alaska on charges of domestic violence.
Track Palin, 28, was arrested on Sunday on charges of felony burglary, assault in the fourth degree and criminal mischief for causing property damage, according to online court records.
The latter charge was for between $250 and $999 in property damage.
According to the records, the alleged incident took place on Saturday and all charges were linked to domestic violence.
The charges appear to be linked to an incident which happened in his family’s hometown, the Alaskan city of Wasilla, but further details about what took place are not currently available.
The felony burglary charge indicates Mr Palin is accused of hurting or trying to hurt someone while carrying out burglary.
“Given the nature of actions addressed last night by law enforcement and the charges involved, the Palins are unable to comment further,” attorney John Tiemessen said in a statement to NBC News on Sunday.
“They ask that the family’s privacy is respected during this challenging situation just as others dealing with a struggling family member would also request.”
Mr Palin was also arrested in 2016 on domestic violence-related charges. According to court records, he was suspected of punching his girlfriend, who then became worried he was going to shoot himself with a rifle.
He was charged with assault in the fourth degree, meddling with a domestic violence report, and misconduct involving weapons in the fourth degree.
He took a plea deal that led to some of the charges being dismissed and he pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm while intoxicated which is deemed to be a misdemeanour – in the US the federal government generally considers a crime punishable with imprisonment for one year or less to be a misdemeanour.
At the time, Ms Palin, one of the first well-known Republicans to endorse Donald Trump, said her son’s arrest was the result of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. She said her son came back “different” after spending a year in Iraq.
His girlfriend later filed for custody of their child and in January she requested a protective order against Mr Palin.
Ms Palin rose to prominence among Tea Party Republicans when she ran on John McCain's presidential ticket but the pair lost to Barack Obama and Joe Biden. After her resignation from the Alaska governorship in 2009, the Republican nominee, who is resolutely pro-life, has tried her hand as a political commentator on Fox News and had her own reality TV show.
After she officially endorsed President Trump in January 2015, she declared the former billionaire property developer was the man to “kick Isis’s ass” with “no pussy footing around”.
Ms Palin recently gained headlines for claiming she does not suffer sexual harassment because she “packs” a gun. She insisted men probably don’t “mess” with her because she carries a weapon but also condemned harassment, saying it “stinks”.
She said: "You know, I think a whole lot people know that I’m probably ‘packing’ – so, I don’t think there’s a whole lot of people who would necessarily mess with me".
The Independent contacted a representative of Ms Palin to see if she wanted to comment on her son's charges.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments