Missouri’s governor, Eric Greitens, was arrested by police on charges of felony invasion of privacy Thursday.Greitens stands accused of taking a photo of a woman “in a state of full or partial nudity” without her consent in March 2015, before he was elected governor. The woman, who has not been named, told her now-former husband that she’d had an affair with Greitens, and that he’d secretly taken a photo of her while she was blindfolded, bound, and naked. (The woman’s ex-husband recorded this confession, also without the woman’s consent.)Greitens allegedly told the woman he’d use the photo as blackmail if she went public with the affair. He also transmitted the image ‘in a manner that allowed access to that image via computer,” according to an indictment by a St. Louis grand jury. That action allowed the grand jury to indict him on a felony charge, as opposed to a misdemeanor, which the statute under which Greitens was charged also allows for.
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Greitens, a Republican, has denied the blackmail charges, but admitted back in January to having an affair during that time period.In a statement after the indictment was released, St. Louis circuit attorney, Kim Gardner said that Greitens, the woman, and the people of St. Louis all deserved an investigation into these allegations.“As I have stated before, it is essential for residents of the City of St. Louis and our state to have confidence in their leaders,” Gardner said. “They must know that the Office of the Circuit Attorney will hold public officials accountable in the same manner as any other resident of our city.”The St. Louis sheriff took Greitens into custody after the indictment was issued, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Robert Patrick.
He was booked and reportedly released shortly thereafter. Greiten's attorney, Edward Dowd, tells reporters the charge is “baseless and unfounded” and that the governor is "absolutely innocent."