Prosecutors haven’t decided whether to charge Sen. Wilson in slapping

Sen. David Wilson, R-Wasilla, listens to legislative proceedings at his desk on the Senate floor in June. State prosecutors haven't decided whether to charge him in slapping Alaska Dispatch News reporter Nathaniel Herz. (Photo by Jeremy Hsieh/KTOO)
Sen. David Wilson, R-Wasilla, listens to legislative proceedings at his desk on the Senate floor in June. State prosecutors haven’t decided whether to charge him in slapping Alaska Dispatch News reporter Nathaniel Herz. (Photo by Jeremy Hsieh/KTOO)

The state Office of Special Prosecutions has not made a decision about whether to charge state Sen. David Wilson in the case in which he’s accused of slapping an Alaska Dispatch News reporter in the Capitol.

The Juneau Police Department handed the case off to the office in May, three weeks after reporter Nathaniel Herz said Wilson slapped him in an encounter. Herz had an audio recording of the incident, in which he asks the senator for his reaction to a recent story.

Chief Assistant Attorney General Andrew Peterson said he cannot provide further comment on an ongoing matter.

Typical criminal cases go to local district attorneys for consideration. A state law makes legislators immune to arrests for misdemeanors while the Legislature is in session. The Legislature has been out of session since Sunday, for the first time since the incident.

Andrew Kitchenman

State Government Reporter, Alaska Public Media & KTOO

State government plays an outsized role in the life of Alaskans. As the state continues to go through the painful process of deciding what its priorities are, I bring Alaskans to the scene of a government in transition.

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