The Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office arrested local attorney and Republican official Daren Wiseley on Sept. 8 on a warrant from Osceola County, Florida.

The Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Osceola County issued a warrant on Wiseley for failure to face arraignment on charges of assaulting a firefighter. Court records show Wiseley sought a waiver for his initial arraignment and entered a not guilty plea Sept. 5, and a  judge recalled the warrant Sept. 8.

Wiseley said he thinks the incident has been exaggerated.

“It was totally unnecessary, and a political hack job,” Wiseley said. “The recent coverage has been a blatant character assination attempt.” 

Wiseley was first arrested on Aug. 7 in Kissimmee, Florida, for allegedly assaulting an on-duty firefighter, according to an Osceola County police report.

The firefighter was responding to a 1:30 a.m. call for Wiseley’s friend, who appeared to be sick. 

“While he was on the scene assisting the patient, a friend of the patient, later identified by his Michigan’s Drivers License as Daren Wiseley… ran towards the truck [sic] and entered,” the report reads. 

According to the police report, Wiseley attempted to enter the truck a second time, and assaulted a firefighter who tried to prevent Wiseley from doing so.

Wiseley, who serves as chairman of Hillsdale County’s contested Republican “America First” party, declined to discuss the details of either arrest.

“It is an ongoing criminal case,” Wiseley said. “I have nothing to hide, and I am fighting the case and the false allegations.”

Wiseley’s arraignment was scheduled for Sept. 6, according to the Osceola County Circuit Court, but Wiseley filed a waiver to not appear at the arraignment and a plea of not guilty on Sept. 5. A warrant for his arrest was issued on Sept. 6,  even though court records show Wiseley had filed the necessary paperwork.

“This is something a 10-minute phone call could have fixed. If they had just treated me with courtesy and as a human, I could have made the necessary phone calls to clear this up,” Wiseley said. “Is it really necessary to send four police officers to my house? I’m not a flight risk.” 

HCRP “America First” Parliamentarian Jon-Paul Rutan said he believes the Sept. 8 arrest was a poor use of the sheriff’s authority.

“Why have the taxpayers use up all our resources for an unnecessary arrest warrant?” Rutan said.

According to the Osceola County Circuit Court, the case is ongoing, and Wiseley is scheduled to face a pretrial on Oct. 27 and a jury trial on Nov. 7 in Florida.

The Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office could not be reached for comment in time for publication.