One of the FBI agents who has been leading the investigation into an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan's governor was arrested Sunday after his wife said he smashed her head on a nightstand and attempted to strangle her following an argument about a swingers party they went to.
Special Agent Richard J. Trask was charged with one count of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder or by strangulation in connection with the alleged assault.
According to an affidavit first detailed in a report by the Detroit News, Trask and his wife had gone earlier in the evening to the swingers event, which she did not enjoy and "which caused multiple verbal arguments" on their way home in Oshtemo Township. While in bed, Trask, who had been drinking at the event, got on top of his wife and then grabbed her head, smashing it several times into the nightstand, she told authorities.
The arrest of an FBI agent credited with helping thwart a plot to kidnap and kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer complicates one of the most closely watched cases of violent extremism in the country https://t.co/OHC7naEYFz via @detroitnews
She said she tried to get him off of her by grabbing onto his beard, but then he wrapped his hands around her neck and started to choke her, according to the affidavit. She told sheriff's deputies she did not believe she lost consciousness, "but felt like she might have." She was then able to grab Trask's testicles, which caused him to let go of her.
Trask left the house but was later located by Kalamazoo County sheriff's officials in the parking lot of a grocery store and taken into custody.
The alleged assault left his wife with several lacerations on her head, blood all over her body, and bruises around her neck.
The incident comes as attorneys for the men Trask helped jail last year for allegedly scheming to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer consider motions accusing the government of intentionally withholding evidence of entrapment. A BuzzFeed News investigation published this week revealed that some of the FBI informants involved in the investigation played a much larger role than previously reported, raising questions as to whether there would have even been a conspiracy without them.
Trask, who, according to the Detroit News, has worked for the FBI since 2011, wrote the original affidavit used to charge the defendants and has testified in federal court about the agency's investigation.
Trask also reportedly ran a CrossFit gym on his property and had maintained an Instagram account showing him exercising, flexing, and posing shirtless.
An FBI spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that the bureau is aware of the charges against Trask and that he has been suspended from his duties pending an internal review.
“Until that review is completed, the FBI has taken affirmative steps to ensure the agent charged in this incident is no longer working FBI matters,” Public Affairs Officer Mara Schneider said in a statement Friday.
Trask was released on a $10,000 bond following an arraignment in district court, the Detroit News reported.