A tearful state Rep. Mark Olson on Tuesday made his first court appearance after his arrest for alleged domestic abuse, and was released without bail on the condition that he stay away from his wife and her five children.
Through his court-appointed attorney, the Republican from Big Lake said he would not enter a plea in the case. He said a guilty plea would be inappropriate and a not guilty plea would suggest he was "avoiding responsibility."
The judge allowed Olson to return to his house once to retrieve his personal belongings. Olson told reporters Tuesday that he had no intention of resigning from the Legislature.
The criminal complaint filed in the case said Olson's wife, Heidi, told sheriff's deputies that Olson pushed her to the ground three times during an argument Sunday at their home in Big Lake. Deputies noted that she had a "fresh bruise."
After Olson was arrested Sunday night, he told deputies on Monday that he grabbed his wife by the shoulders "placing her on the ground," according to the criminal complaint.
Olson, who was handcuffed and wearing jail orange, told reporters Tuesday "I first of all need God's forgiveness. And I need my wife's forgiveness and my family's. And then I need the public's forgiveness."
The article concludes by saying Mark Olson's next court date was set for Dec. 12.
5 comments:
Ken, you might want to let your readers know that Mark Olson is listed in the Minnesota Young Republicans' Hall of Fame here:
http://www.minnesotayr.com/pages/halloffame.html
Touting family values, Mark Olson is ready to tell everybody what to do, who to be with and how christian values will run us whether or not we are of his religion.
Now, when he goes beyond human decency or anyones religious values and gets told what he must do he cries.
He should go cry on the shoulder of his family value pal Rev Haggard.
Waa waaa!
Anyone heard how Mrs. Olson is, and whether she is getting the help she needs?
As we have seen in recent months, often those who yell the loudest about values are sometimes most in need of intervention.
While we should decry hypocrisy, we should avoid turning this into an electronic feeding frenzy.
While I disagree with nearly everything Olson stands for politically, I personally find the barely restrained glee with which his downfall is being reported to be distasteful, to say the least.
Even if Olson isn't convicted of anything in the end, he is likely finished in politics for the foreseeable future - maybe for good. But this is not going to change the politics of his district. What we should now be concerned with is laying the groundwork for selecting a competent successor.
Olson's personal travails are really none of our business anymore; let's end the piling-on as soon as possible.
I'm only posting information from news stories and blogs.
When Olson resigns, this blog stops.
This Olson is not resigning, listen to the statements he made.
He is not out of politics for the foreseeable future, if he lasts he will continue the precedent of
"beat wife, stay elected, bellow about family values and oppress everyone".
Yeah, lets worry about the wife while letting this ass show what our society really believes in:
Beating people is OK and you are a REAL LEADER if you can BEAT AND GET AWAY WITH IT.
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