Former South Dakota news anchor, Tapio campaign advisor arrested for alleged felony assault

Shad Olson, a former Neal Tapio campaign advisor, experienced South Dakota newsman and far-right podcaster, is currently in custody at a Meade County jail after he allegedy assaulted his girlfriend in a drunken bout, according to court records obtained by the Argus Leader.

Olson, 51, was arrested last Sunday after an alleged altercation two days prior in Rapid City, where he "slammed" his girlfriend down on the ground multiple times and chased her around the house, a probable cause affidavit states.

Olson previously served as campaign counsel to Tapio, a Republican candidate who lost to U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson and then-Secretary of State Shantel Krebs in a bid to win the incumbent congressman's district during the state's 2018 House of Representative's election.

Tapio himself was formerly a campaign manager for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign in South Dakota.

Olson is charged with aggravated domestic assault, a class three felony. This carries a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in state prison and a $30,000 fine.

Olson is being held on a $5,000 bail. Court documents also show he is considered indigent and had received a court-appointed attorney.

Details of the affidavit

According to the arrest affidavit, a police officer responded Sunday to the reported assault that had taken place two days prior to the arrest at the victim's house.

The victim made the report from Working Against Violence, Inc., a Rapid City non-profit which provides shelter to victims of domestic violence, and told a dispatcher Olson, her boyfriend of at least eight years, had "slammed her down multiple times and chased her from her house."

The victim told a responding officer who had arrived at WAVI that Olson had been drinking alcohol and was "drunk" by the time they came home from work.

The victim said Olson, who "usually passes out" after drinking, was instead "alert and could barely function."

The victim asked Olson "if he was drinking already and he became mad." She then told Olson, who she described as unemployed and lacking a source of income, that she "works hard to support their family," to which he simply retorted she was a "crazy [expletive]," documents state.

"[The victim] said at that time, he put his hands on her by grabbing he [sic] shoulders," the affidavit reads. "(She) tried to remove Shad's hand and told him to not touch her."

The report continues that Olson then "flipped her over and picked her up and threw [her] down on the floor" four or five times.

The victim expressed she felt lucky she was thrown on a carpeted floor, because the alleged assault did not leave her with broken bones.

"[The victim] said she was having a hard time breathing and its [sic] hard to talk as she touched the side of her stomach," the report reads. "[The victim] said she was still aching and described the assault as an animal killing an animal and that Shad isn't human."

The victim then told the officer she "thought she was going to die," but she was able to escape the house. The officer asked if Olson said anything during the alleged assault, but his girlfriend said he only repeated the "crazy [expletive] insult."

From there, the victim said Olson chased after her as she ran away from her home. They had been living together from some time, but she told the officer "she pays for everything in the home while Olson worries about the country," the documents read.

The officer asked the victim if Olson had assaulted her before, with her replying "yes."

The victim said Olson, who runs his own far-right, eponymic podcast, is "stressed over politics," which influences his drinking. She then told the officer Olson blames his political frustrations on her.

As Olson's chase continued, the victim said her boyfriend began to tell her "not to ruin his reputation and continued to follow her," the reports state.

The victim relented and returned to their home, with Olson trailing behind, the affidavit said.

Then, the documents state, Olson put his hands around her neck.

"As [the victim] entered the front door, Shad lifted her up by her throat stating, 'You made me do this' and continued shaking her while her feet were off the ground," the affidavit reads. "[The victim] said it was scary [sic] she thought she was going to die again. [The victim] was able to get away by shaking her neck."

The victim then began calling Olson's mother, hoping the attempt would distract her partner, so she could escape the house again.

Olson's girlfriend then tried to run to her car, but Olson began "blocking her in." She then ran to a neighbor's house, the reports read.

"She never knocked on the door but stood by it to scare him in thinking she would," the affidavit reads.

At some point during the night of the assault, a sheriff's deputy met the victim near her home. The deputy noted the victim was not wearing shoes and had been running barefoot from her alleged abuser.

However, Olson's girlfriend did not immediately elaborate on the details of the abuse. The victim told the deputy she did not want to say anything "right then because she wanted to protect him, too," and that she would talk when she was ready.

She later related to the deputy she was "lucky" she had grabbed a coat from her garage before running away, the records show.

Shad Olson's pattern of abuse, suicidal statements

According to the affidavit, the victim told the officer Olson had been abusing her of the course of eight years.

The officer noted this in the arrest affidavit, saying "Shad has a past history of assaults and domestic violence and has been flagged in our system to use caution."

The victim told authorities Olson intentionally grabs her throat as a means to intimidate her, and she said "this has happened two times" within the few weeks.

The victim said she didn't report the first incident to police but the alleged assault left her "begging for her life," the affidavit reads.

The responding officer inquired whether this occurred after a Jan. 18 "chimney fire" incident at their home and before the Feb. 2 attack, to which she said "yes."

After making it to her neighbor's house, the victim said Olson continued to walk around but eventually went home.

The victim then expressed worry for the officer's safety when it became evident they would contact Olson. She explained Olson has previously made suicidal statements to her.

"Shad stresses to her all the time that if anyone comes to the house, he will kill them and then kill himself. [The victim] told me that if the officers try to talk to him, he won't answer the door."

Asked by the officer if Olson had any firearms on him, the victim said he did, and guns could be found in the home "loose, wherever."

After providing the officer with the keys to her home and the door codes to her shop, the victim then showed them a photo she took of her right cheek on Feb. 2 at a hospital. The area, the affidavit reads, appeared "raised and swollen."

The woman also provided photos taken from the previous incident. According to the police report, the victim showed photos of herself containing bruises to her left and right arms and a large bruise on the back of her upper thigh.

The victim then removed her shirt, revealing she had "an abrasion, red and raised on her back right shoulder," as well as scratch marks from Olson's nails on both upper arms.

"[The victim] grabbed her lower back and told me that it hurt to breath [sic] and then removed her pants and asked me if it was bruised yet," the affidavit reads. "[The victim] showed me the back of her left upper thigh and it looked raised and irritated. [The victim] then showed me how Shad grabbed her neck and told me that her upper throat hurt."

The victim then explained Olson had told her in the past he would "kill himself before he gets arrested."

After multiple attempts to reach Olson without success, the officer then obtained a warrant to arrest the man and obtain potential evidence from the home.

Olson was later taken into custody and transported to Meade County Jail.

Shad Olson had a storied TV background

Olson was more prominently known in western South Dakota as a news anchor for KOTA Territory News, an ABC-affiliated television station based in Rapid City and the largest broadcaster in its regional market. His tenure as an employee at the company goes back to 2000, where he spent the first three years of his career as a reporter before transitioning to an anchor role in 2003. He spent the next seven years manning the station's anchor desk.

But he crossed a line in the ethics of journalism on April 15, 2010, when he gave a speech at a "tax day" rally held by Citizens for Liberty, a local tea-party affiliate.

John Peterson, KOTA's news director at the time, learned about the speech in a Rapid City Journal article the following day and suspended Olson from his on-air duties.

"A journalist should not participate. A journalist should report the news, not make the news," John Peterson, KOTA's news director at the time, told Rapid City Journal in an April 2010 report.

A follow-up Journal report indicated Peterson intended to reinstate Olson to his post at an undetermined date.

However, Olson voluntarily resigned on May 11, 2010, according to previous Rapid City Journal reporting.

Olson told former Journal reporter Kevin Woster he intended to become more active with the Tea Party group. He also said he had begun working for then-state Sen. Gordon Howie as a paid political consultant and wanted to start a radio talk show.

Olson later helped found and served as president of the South Dakota Tea Party Alliance by August 2010. One year after his original speech that altered his career, Olson spoke at yet another "tax day" rally held within Rapid City's Memorial Park bandshell, according to Journal reporting.

However, this would not be the last time western South Dakotans would see Olson on their TV screens.

On Oct. 30, 2012, Olson made his first debut on KNBN NewsCenter1, a small, locally-owned Rapid City TV station and NBC-affiliate, according to a post from the company's Facebook page. By 2013, he began to parse prompters behind the anchor desk once more.

But his revitalized TV career only lasted a few more years. In February 2017, Olson was replaced by two staff reporters in the station's primetime 5:30 slot. Olson quietly exited the company at an unknown time and without a statement from management.

During his time at KOTA-TV, Olson had earned a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for a four-part documentary, "Tonya's Story," which also scored a regional Emmy and an award from a South Dakota Associated Press contest.

His arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 21.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Former South Dakota news anchor Shad Olson arrested on felony assault