Updated 3:35 pm, Jan. 18, with information on Hamilton’s resignation.
Updated 10:00 am, June 14, with information on Hamilton’s case. In May, Hamilton was acquitted of all charges.
By Seth Ogilvie, Idaho Reports
The data director for the Idaho Democratic Party resigned Thursday after being charged with domestic battery.
Tom Hamilton, former political director for the party, was arrested and charged with domestic battery on Jan. 7th. (June 14, 2018 update: In May, Hamilton was found not guilty on all charges.)
Earlier in the week, Idaho Reports had asked the Idaho Democratic Party whether Hamilton was still employed after the party learned about the charges.
“Right when we found out, we placed him on administrative leave,” Shelby Scott, communications director for the Idaho Democratic Party, said Tuesday. “The alleged incident happened outside of work hours and did not involve any members of the IDP organization.”
Scott added Hamilton was still being paid, but had been locked out of his work accounts.
On Tuesday, Scott and Idaho Democratic Party Chairman Bert Marley declined to comment on whether Hamilton would continue to be employed by the party.
“As of right now he has been placed on administrative leave, and I believe that the chairman will come to a decision,” Scott said Tuesday. “We take all of these allegations seriously, and we want to make sure people know we are taking this seriously. Any sort of incidents like this or any sort of arrest, we need to take a look at what’s going on there, and this is obviously no different.”
Ultimately, Hamilton resigned, and Marley accepted his resignation, Scott said Thursday.
The Idaho Democratic Party has previously criticized Republicans for supporting candidates with a history of domestic violence. In 2014, then-Idaho Democratic Party communications director Dean Ferguson attacked Republican support for Rep. Greg Chaney after Chaney’s past domestic battery charges came to light.
“The Idaho Democratic Party says Idaho families and Idaho children ‘deserve your support,’” Ferguson wrote. “Gov. Otter owes Idaho to explain why he endorses a candidate with Greg Chaney’s recent criminal history. Gov. Otter needs to tell Idaho families why he wants Chaney to vote on laws that affect the safety of Idaho families and Idaho children.”
Hamilton didn’t return messages for comment.
According to court documents, Hamilton posted a $500 bond two days later, on Jan. 9th. He has a pretrial hearing scheduled for Feb. 26th.
Melissa Davlin contributed to this report.
