FBI Agent In Governor Whitmer Kidnap Case Jailed For Assaulting Wife After Swingers Party

The FBI agent who had been leading the investigation into the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 is facing felony assault charges after an incident at his home on July 18.

Richard James Trask II, a nine-year veteran of the FBI who testified in preliminary hearings last year about his role helping lead the investigation into the plot to kidnap Whitmer, was arrested in his wife's car in the parking lot of a Meijer supermarket in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Sunday, according to MLive News. He fled there, according to a police affidavit reviewed by The Detroit News, following an allegedly violent altercation with his wife at their home in Oshtemo Township, which is just outside of Kalamazoo.

The altercation began following the couple's reported attendance at a so-called "swingers'" party at an Oshtemo Township hotel that day, which Trask's wife told police she did not enjoy and about which they argued on the way home after each had consumed several alcoholic drinks. She told police that when they got into their bed, Trask got on top of her and “then grabbed the side of her head and smashed it several times on the nightstand,” according to the affidavit reviewed by The Detroit News.

She then told police that she attempted to pull on his beard to get him to stop, at which point he began to choke her with both hands; he eventually ended his assault when she grabbed his testicles. 

It is at that point that he took clothes and left the couple's home in his wife's car, and she called the police, according to MLive.

When police arrived, according to the affidavit, Trask's wife had multiple cuts to the right side of her head, severe bruising around her neck and her head, chest, arms, hands and clothing were covered in blood.

Trask refused to give a statement to police at the time of his arrest. He appeared in court on Monday and was arraigned on one felony count of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder. He was released on a personal recognizance bond later in the week, with the condition that he not return to the family home, have contact with his wife, or possess a gun, according to MLive.

In addition to his work with the FBI, The Detroit News reports that Trask owns and operates a CrossFit gym in Oshtemo Township under the name BCB Health & Wellness.

In a statement to MLive, FBI spokeswoman Mara Schneider confirmed they are aware of the charges against Trask and are cooperating with authorities, but cannot speak to what role Trask will have in the Whitmer case going forward.

“In accordance with FBI policy, the incident is subject to internal review, and we cannot comment further at this time.”