Though it called a physical altercation between two state lawmakers at the Utah Capitol last year “offensive and inexcusable,” the Layton City attorney’s office said Friday it has declined to file assault charges against House Minority Leader Brian King.
Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City, lodged a criminal complaint against King after an altercation that happened in a hallway in the Senate building last October. Layton screened the case to avoid potential conflicts of interest in Salt Lake County.
The city reviewed the video footage, witness statements and the verbal and electronic communications between the two lawmakers and determined the evidence “does not rise to the level required to meet the burden of proof and the standard of likelihood of a conviction at trial,” the city said in a written statement.