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Sarah Palin's son Track charged with domestic assault on father Todd

Sarah Palin's son told police that when he reached the house, his father aimed his gun at him, and he begged his father to shoot him several times 

Maya Oppenheim
Wednesday 20 December 2017 10:45 GMT
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Ms Palin's husband informed the police he armed himself with a pistol when his son arrived but was disarmed and was left bloodied
Ms Palin's husband informed the police he armed himself with a pistol when his son arrived but was disarmed and was left bloodied

The oldest son of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has been charged with assault and burglarly after a confrontation with his father involving a gun.

Track Palin allegedly broke into his parents’ Alaska home through a window on Saturday night, according to police.

The 28-year-old was arrested on Sunday on charges of felony burglary, assault in the fourth degree and criminal mischief for causing property damage, according to online court records. The latter charge was for between $250 and $999 in property damage.

It has now emerged the disagreement involved his father Todd Palin - an oil field production operator who married Ms Palin who was one of the first well-known Republicans to endorse Donald Trump.

The incident took place at the Palin home in the Alaskan city of Wasilla and was sparked by Truck coming to the house to retrieve a truck and threatening to beat his father, according to police.

Police say that when they arrived they engaged in a stand-off with Track in which he moved around the house and went out onto the garage roof at one stage. According to them, he urged police to lay their weapons down and allegedly branded them "peasants".

He told police that when he reached the house, his father aimed his gun at him, and he begged his father to shoot him several times before entering the house, according to the documents.

Ms Palin's husband informed the police he armed himself with a pistol when his son arrived but was disarmed and was left bloodied.

Ms Palin, who made a name for herself among Tea Party Republicans when she ran on John McCain’s presidential ticket but ended up losing to Barack Obama and Joe Biden, said her son was “freaking out” and “was on some type of medication”, according to court documents.

Documents acquired by US press say Truck had been drinking and was on pain medication.

Truck was also arrested in 2016 on domestic violence-related charges. According to court records, he was suspected of punching his girlfriend, who then became concerned he was going to shoot himself with a rifle.

He was charged with assault in the fourth degree, meddling with a domestic violence report, and misconduct involving weapons in the fourth degree.

He took a plea deal that led to some of the charges being dismissed and he pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm while intoxicated which is deemed to be a misdemeanour – in the US the federal government generally considers a crime punishable with imprisonment for one year or less to be a misdemeanour.

Ms Palin, a conservative politician who has worked as a political commentator on Fox News and had her own reality TV show, at the time said her son’s arrest was the result of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. She said her son came back “different” after spending a year in Iraq.

Earlier this year his ex-girlfriend Jordan Loewe applied for a protective order against Mr Palin, having beforehand requested full custody of their one-year-old son.

The Palin family have requested privacy in a statement and said they are unable to comment further on the case.

Ms Palin recently gained headlines for claiming she does not suffer sexual harassment because she “packs” a gun. She insisted men probably don’t “mess” with her because she carries a weapon but also condemned harassment, saying it “stinks”.

"You know, I think a whole lot people know that I’m probably ‘packing’ – so, I don’t think there’s a whole lot of people who would necessarily mess with me," she said.

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