The Asheville Police Department declined Tuesday to file charges following allegations that Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards assaulted a Rotary Club convention attendee during a heated encounter Saturday evening after what witnesses say was the lawmaker’s inappropriately partisan speech. 

In a statement released Tuesday, the department confirmed that police responded to a call from “an individual” who reported having been “assaulted by Congressman Chuck Edwards.” The caller wasn’t identified in the statement, nor were the allegation’s details made public.  

A report of the incident at Asheville’s Embassy Suites hotel was filed by police who responded to the call at 6:37 p.m. Saturday. The report was heavily redacted before public release. Asheville Police spokesman Rick Rice told Asheville Watchdog in an email that the initial report doesn’t contain any narrative written by the responding police officers nor does it mention Edwards or contain the name of the caller.

The statement issued Tuesday characterized the encounter between Edwards and the unnamed Rotarian as a “disturbance”  and said the department “conducted a thorough investigation, which included interviews with the reporting party and multiple witnesses.

“After reviewing the findings and consulting with the Buncombe County District Attorney’s Office, it was mutually determined that no criminal charges against any party involved in the incident will be initiated.” 

In a statement released by his congressional office Sunday, Edwards said he was confronted by a member of the convention audience while leaving the room; he placed blame on the Rotarian.

“Immediately following a speaking event, I refused to engage with an intoxicated man that was cursing,” the congressman said.  “He became more belligerent and later called the police. His behavior was embarrassing to the people at the event and was duly noted by the police.”

Edwards didn’t respond to a follow-up text from The Watchdog asking that he address the Rotarian’s allegation that Edwards had struck him during the encounter. 

The congressman had been invited to the Rotary Club District 7670 convention to report on his efforts to assist western North Carolina in recovering from Tropical Storm Helene, a process that Rotary clubs have been deeply engaged in. 

The district convention included delegates from local clubs in the region’s 22 counties, much of those encompassing Edwards’s 11th Congressional District, which was hard hit by the storm.

The congressman was slotted to speak between the end of the two-day convention’s business meetings and a closing dinner. 

One Rotary member told The Watchdog that the speech didn’t go well from the outset and its partisan tone may have triggered the angry outburst Edwards faced.. 

“My impression was that [Edwards] caused the incident” by delivering partisan remarks, the member said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak for the civic organization. 

Rotary members are typically drawn from community leadership positions in a variety of fields and the civic organization takes steps to remain non-partisan and apolitical in its activities and selection of speakers.

Edwards “spent less than a minute or two on Helene, and [the speech] was mostly about how proud he was to fly on Air Force One and to be with the president,” the member said. He described the speech as focused on defending President Trump’s tariff policies. (Edwards has voted to support the president’s authority to impose tariffs citing a congressionally backed national emergency).

Many in the audience appeared to become agitated by Edwards’s remarks, the member said.  When Edwards left the room, the member said, the convention’s presiding officer went to the podium in tears and expressed her displeasure over the speech’s tone and content.  

She “made it clear that we are not here to be a political organization; it should never have happened,” the member said. 

In a text message, Rotary District Governor Connie Molland confirmed the member’s report and told The Watchdog that Edwards’s speech diverged from the post-storm report the organization had expected when he was invited.

“Rotary works hard to keep both religion and politics out of our meetings and events,” she wrote.  “We value diverse perspectives but to keep the peace, we create an environment where we can all work shoulder to shoulder helping our communities.

“The welcoming comments were meant to be about Hurricane Helene.”

“One of the things that’s very important in Rotary is to abide by a four-part test. And the very first one is [to speak] the truth,” the member said. “And everybody sitting around me when [Edwards spoke] was saying, ‘Wow, he blew that one.’”

One audience member noisily stood up while Edwards was speaking, walked out of the room and slammed the door, the member said, 

According to multiple posts on social media, although not verified by The Watchdog, the encounter occurred as Edwards made his way from the podium toward the exit. The congressman was holding a folder or briefing book in one hand as the attendee  yelled at him for refusing to answer his questions, according to social media posts. 

According to a Charlotte Observer report, a witness said Edwards touched the protester on a shoulder or back with the folder and continued walking. The Rotarian called police and alleged that this was tantamount to an assault. 

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Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Tom Fiedler is a Pulitzer Prize-winning political reporter and dean emeritus from Boston University who lives in Asheville. Email him at tfiedler@avlwatchdog.org. The Watchdog’s reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.

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