Rhode Island AG staffer on unpaid leave after Newport arrest

A Rhode Island assistant attorney general is on unpaid leave while officials review an incident outside a Newport restaurant that went viral after she appeared to cite her title to resist arrest and warned officers they would regret detaining her. Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Flanagan Hogan, 34, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of willful trespassing on Aug. 14 following an interaction outside Clarke Cooke House. The ongoing review by the state Attorney General’s Office comes as Flanagan has been moved from paid leave to unpaid leave, with the duration of the leave not yet determined.

Video of the arrest shows Flanagan and a companion being escorted away from the restaurant by Newport police after staff asked them to leave and officers attempted to detain them. In the footage, Flanagan repeatedly identifies herself as an attorney general and, at one point, instructs officers to turn off their body-worn cameras, asserting that it is the policy to do so if a citizen requests it. Officers did not comply, and Flanagan was placed in the back of a cruiser. As she was seated, she told the officers they would “regret this.” The incident also involves Flanagan’s friend,...