Jeff Freeman, a Republican candidate for the Kansas state House of Representatives, was arrested last Tuesday for having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle. Freeman is running against incumbent state Rep. Peggy Mast of Emporia in the Aug. 5 primary. Freeman is currently on probation in Fairfax County, Virginia for alcohol-related disorderly conduct charges.
Freeman announced his candidacy for office in October, 2013 and spent 23 years (up until the beginning of July) as a senior federal lobbyist for the National Rifle Association. (Freeman has told the media that he is still an active NRA member, but he retired to move back home and help care for his father, who is in a nursing home in Burlington, Kansas.)
Freeman had served as a Republican representative in the House from 1984 to 1991. At the time, he was the representative for the 17th and 60th District seats.
According to KVOV AM, Freeman’s political career has run concurrent to his troubles with the law, which seem to all involve alcohol. “He won reelection in 1990 after he was arrested for speeding, impersonating an officer and deciding against taking a breathalyzer test as part of a traffic stop in Emporia.”
Apparently the charges were not enough to slow down his career as a Chief Lobbyist at the National Rifle Association or interfere with his relationships with Kansas legislators.
Freeman denies the charges and says there was no “open” container in the car. He claims he had some alcohol at a memorial service in Neosho Falls earlier in the day but said he was sober when he was stopped by the police.
It is unknown at this time if the charges Freeman is facing in Burlington will result in a revocation of his probation in Fairfax County, Virginia. In July, 2013, Freeman was arrested and charged with assault on a firefighter, disorderly conduct and tampering with a vehicle. Freeman entered a plea of guilty to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to a year of supervised probation in October, 2013.