Jury splits verdict in trial of Minn. lawmaker

(AP) State Rep. Mark Olson was convicted Friday of one count of misdemeanor domestic assault with the intent to cause fear and acquitted on a second misdemeanor assault charge.

The verdicts were returned by a jury of five men and one woman after about three hours of deliberations. Sentencing was set for Aug. 8.

The jury convicted Olson of domestic assault by intending to cause fear of bodily harm or death. He was acquitted of intentionally inflicting or attempting to inflict bodily harm.

Prosecutors alleged Olson, an eight-term Republican from Big Lake, pushed his wife down three times behind their home on Nov. 12.

Olson, 52, claimed during trial he was a battered spouse and that the Nov. 12 incident came after frequent arguments with his wife over raising her five children.

He said that in the past, she hit him several times, stabbed his favorite dresser and cut his picture off their wedding album cover with what he thought was a knife.

Olson's wife, Heidi Olson, also claimed she had been abused by her husband and feared for her life.

During closing arguments, prosecutor Gretchen Ziehl told jurors that Olson intended to scare and harm his wife when he put his hands on her and she ended up on her backside.

Ziehl rejected his theory that he was acting in self-defense.

During her closing arguments, Olson's attorney, Jill Clark, asked the jurors to find that Olson didn't intend to hurt or frighten his wife when the two argued and eventually became physical.

House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher said in a prepared statement that the House can punish a member who "brings the House into dishonor or disrepute," if at least two representatives submit a complaint to her.

An ethics panel could recommend disciplinary action for a vote by the full House.

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