No charges filed over accusation that NC congressman assaulted man, police say
Police say Rep. Chuck Edwards won’t be charged after a man accused Edwards of assaulting him Saturday night at a Rotary event in Asheville.
“Asheville Police Department officers initially responded to the Embassy Suites in downtown Asheville around 6:37 p.m. on May 10th, following an event to investigate a report of a disturbance, in which an individual alleged they were assaulted by Congressman Chuck Edwards,” Asheville police wrote on social media.
Police said they spoke with the reporting party and multiple witnesses and after reviewing their findings and speaking with the Buncombe County district attorney’s office, “it was mutually determined that no criminal charges against any party involved in the incident will be initiated.”
McClatchy first reported on the incident Sunday morning after police confirmed Edwards was present at a disturbance at the hotel. Asheville Police spokesman Rick Rice told McClatchy then that no one was injured and no arrest had been made.
Edwards, responding to McClatchy’s report, told the newspaper in a written statement that someone else was the aggressor, saying he “refused to engage with an intoxicated man that was cursing.”
“He became more belligerent and later called the police,” Edwards’ statement said. “His behavior was embarrassing to the people at the event and was duly noted by the police. To my knowledge there was no further action taken by police.”
Law enforcement have not released the 911 call or the police report.
But on Monday, one of the events’ organizers told McClatchy that Edwards struck a Rotarian with a clipboard that was holding the speech he had just delivered.
Edwards was scheduled to speak around 6 p.m. Saturday night at a conference for the Rotary’s 7670 District.
Guy Gooder, a graphic designer and the district’s community service project chair, said Edwards did not stick to the topic he was given and insulted the Rotarians by attacking federal agencies the organization works closely with to eradicate polio.
Gooder said when Edwards got off stage, he walked past a man sitting at a table who said something along the lines of, “that was a load of B.S.”
“Chuck stops and kind of bends over, kind of in-his-face type of stuff,” said Gooder, who was sitting a table over.
He said Edwards then “hit the guy with his clipboard.” Gooder said he heard, but did not see, Edwards hit the man because the congressman’s body was blocking his view.
Edwards has not responded to a request for comment on Gooder’s allegations.
This story was originally published May 13, 2025 at 9:46 AM.
