LAS VEGAS (AP) - A Republican candidate for Nevada Secretary of State faces a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from a confrontation with a woman during a political rally at a Las Vegas bar.
Defense attorney Craig Mueller said Friday the allegations stemming from a June 4 encounter between Rob Lauer and a woman at Stoney's Rockin' Country bar amount to a misunderstanding.
A police report says the woman, Jennifer Von Tobel, alleged that Lauer injured her wrist and shoulder when he twisted her arm behind her to demonstrate his military police self-defense training.
Police say witnesses and bar surveillance video support Von Tobel's account.
The 40-year-old Lauer is due Aug. 24 in Las Vegas Justice Court.
The charge carries a possible penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.