Criminal complaint: Former Idaho GOP chair wore wig, masturbated outside apartment complex
Boise Police on Thursday arrested Jonathan Parker — a lobbyist and former Idaho Republican Party chairman — and booked him into the Ada County Jail on a felony first-degree stalking charge.
According to the criminal complaint, on or between May 16 and May 30, Parker “did knowingly and maliciously engage” in conduct that “seriously alarmed, annoyed or harassed (his wife) Kelly Parker.” The complaint states that Parker’s conduct included “repeatedly hiding in bushes, masturbating, disguising himself with a wig” at or near her apartment complex.
The judge set bond at $80,000 and issued a no-contact order, which bars Parker from getting within 500 feet of his wife.
Parker resigned from his GOP post on Feb. 18.
“Last year, Kelly and I were blessed that Presley came into our lives as our beloved daughter,” Parker wrote in his Feb. 18 resignation letter to the party.
“Serving as your chairman, while maintaining a full-time job and being a fully engaged father, has been harder than I imagined, so much so that I have reluctantly decided that I should no longer continue to serve as chairman of the Idaho Republican Party so that I can focus on the priorities I place above all others,” Parker stated at the time.
About one month later, on March 26, Parker’s wife filed for divorce in Ada County, according to court records. The divorce proceedings are pending and sealed.
Parker was elected GOP chairman in July 2017 and re-elected in June 2018. He started his own government affairs consulting and lobbying business, Parker Public Affairs, in 2017.
This story was originally published May 31, 2019 at 11:17 AM.