Trustee Mitch Lyons reads off an apology on Feb. 17, 2017 at the Hannah Administration Building. Lyons was apologizing for tweets that he posted a few weeks ago. Students and community members were given an opportunity to voice their concerns.
An arrest warrant was issued for MSU Trustee Mitch Lyons in Jackson County on Dec. 28, 2017, according to court records.
The warrant is for one misdemeanor count of assault and battery, but the online records provide no information about the alleged crime.
A warrant has been issued for Lyons, but since he has not been arraigned, no more information can be provided by Michigan State police, according to the Lansing State Journal.
“The warrant has been cleared and the overall situation is a misunderstanding," Lyons' attorney, Brian Lennon, said in a statement. "We look forward to the facts coming out on this baseless claim and to seeing this legal issue resolved.”
Assault and battery carries a penalty of 93 days of imprisonment or a fine of no more than $500, or both, according to the Michigan Penal Code.
MSU spokesperson Jason Cody did not respond to request for comment at the time of publication.
Lyons has been a trustee since 2011. Last year, Lyons came under fire after he revealed the MSU football player who informed football head coach Mark Dantonio about an alleged sexual assault from January 2017.
Lyons apologized for outing the whistleblower during a board of trustees meeting in June 2017.
In January 2017, Lyons sent a controversial tweet about the immigration ban, which has since been removed.
Lyons read a statement of apology during a board of trustees meeting in February 2017, where he said many took his tweet to mean he thought all Muslims were terrorists and that he wasn't welcoming of international students on MSU's campus. Lyons said the ideas were false and he's against terrorism.
Editor's note — This article was updated Jan. 12 at 8:00 p.m. The only change made was the addition of Lennon's statement.
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