By Kaitlyn Campbell
An investigation into what happened at a fight between two GOP lawmakers during a Michigan Republican committee meeting on July 8 at the Doherty Hotel in Clare in ongoing.
According to a report obtained by TV5 through a Freedom of Information Act request, the men involved in the fight were Mark DeYoung, chair of the Clare County Republican Party, and James Chapman, a Wayne County Republican. In the Clare City Police report, the Executive Committee of the Michigan GOP had a meeting at the Doherty Hotel.
DeYoung said that he was already in the meeting when he heard someone at the door. According to the police report, he then went to the door and someone gave him the middle finger through the window and shouted at him.
DeYoung said he then opened the door and was kicked by Chapman, also saying that he was tackled, sustaining minor injuries and busting his dentures.
On the other hand, Chapman told the Clare City Police the opposite, that DeYoung had attacked him.
Chapman said that he was at the meeting as a delegate. He knew he wouldn’t be allowed into the executive committee meeting, and he said that he and other delegates were waiting in a hallway outside. He found a door with a window so he could see and listen to the meeting.
The report said that Chapman claimed that DeYoung saw him eavesdropping, came to the door, and threatened him. When DeYoung opened the door, he punched at Chapman, which caused him to defend himself.
Both men emailed these statements to the Clare City police, and both mentioned that they want to press charges. The incident is being investigated by the Clare County Prosecutor’s Office.