A former South Dakota TV news anchor has been charged with domestic abuse against his girlfriend and will face a jury trial in June.
Shad Olson, 52, has been accused of assaulting his girlfriend at her Meade County home in February 2024. He repeatedly shoved her to the ground after grabbing her by the throat, according to the case affidavit.
Olson eventually backed out of a plea agreement. His jury trial is scheduled for June 5, with a pre-trial hearing scheduled for May 22, KOTA TV reported.
In a probable cause affidavit, Mr Olson allegedly “kept calling his girlfriend of eight years a crazy b***h” and had her leave her house barefoot while he “chased her,” The New York Post reported.
The man “chased” the woman during the alleged attack, telling her not to “ruin his reputation” while he “continued to follow her.”
According to the affidavit, once the woman returned to the house, Olson “lifted her up by her throat” and “continued shaking her while her feet were off the ground.”
The former TV anchor “flipped her over and picked her up and threw [her] down on the floor” up to five times, according to the report.
According to the complaint, the girlfriend freed herself from Olson’s hold and ran barefoot to her neighbour’s house before a sheriff’s deputy finally showed up.
The woman claimed Olson had previously assaulted her and that his drinking and his response to political events were among the reasons for the violence. He is allegedly “stressed over politics, and it makes him drink,” she claimed.
The affidavit stated that Mr Olson “doesn’t work” and has “no source of income.”
The woman added that he “worries about the country” while she “pays for everything in the home,” adding that she thought “she was going to die.”
The felony charge against Olson was dropped by the Meade County State’s Attorney’s Office in November 2024. However, he was charged with simple assault-domestic violence, a Class 1 misdemeanour in South Dakota.
A former legislative candidate, Jodie Frye posted $5,000 bail after Mr Olson was detained and later released. He was eventually accused of a felony charge of aggravated assault-domestic violence.