Missouri state Rep. Anthony Ealy Jr., a Grandview Democrat, was arrested in Jefferson City one day after voters returned him to the Missouri House. He won his third term Tuesday with 68% of the vote.
Cole County's inmate portal showed Ealy was booked at 11:57 a.m. Wednesday on a misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree domestic assault and disturbing the peace. Cole County Prosecutor Locke Thompson confirmed Thursday that his office filed assault and peace-disturbance charges.
According to an incident report cited by FOX4, police were called just before 11:30 a.m. to a downtown Jefferson City apartment after a woman said Ealy had trespassed and threatened her and her husband. The report says Ealy "said something about a gun" and then told the husband, "I'm going to kill you."
The report also alleges Ealy had done the same thing the night before. The woman's husband plans to press charges, according to the report.
Jefferson City police said officers responded to the 600 block of East Capitol Avenue, where multiple witnesses said Ealy had been yelling and causing a disturbance outside a nearby business. Police said the 32-year-old was found nearby at his residence and arrested.
The incident report noted Ealy appeared to be having "a panic attack or mental health crisis." A witness told FOX4 that Ealy disrupted a funeral service, calling the scene "pretty chaotic."
Ealy was being held without bond and was expected to go before a judge Friday. As of Thursday, no formal court documents or dates had appeared on Missouri's Casenet system.
House Democratic leadership said it had already removed Ealy from all of his committees in the spring so he could "focus on personal issues." A spokesman said there are no plans to restore those assignments next session.
Ealy, an attorney first elected in 2022, did not respond to a request for comment from The Kansas City Star. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
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