Sherry L. Johnston, Levi Johnston’s mother, was arrested December 18^th by Alaska State Troopers on drug related charges.  Levi gained some notoriety in 2008 as the boyfriend of Sarah Palin’s daughter, Bristol, once it was announced that Bristol was pregnant.  The pregnancy of conservative Palin’s unwed teenaged daughter made headlines around the world, sparking much debate and drawing even more attention to the Alaskan governor.  

According to a statement released by troop spokeswoman Megan Peters, Johnston was arrested in connection to charges surrounding the selling of prescription painkiller OxyContin, a popular drug on the streets.  She has been charged with six felony drug counts and was under investigation while Palin was running for vice president.

While the arrest may seem like old news, according to one Alaska State Trooper, it is anything but. He claims political interference in the case, in particular a delay in serving the warrant on Johnston until after the November election was over.

In an email written by Kyle Young, the trooper claims that once it was known just who Johnston was, “this case became anything but normal.” He states in the email that he sent out to all members of his union, the Public Safety Employees Association, that the investigation “was not allowed to progress in a normal fashion, the search warrant service WAS delayed because of the pending election.”

Col. Audie Holloway, Alaska troopers’ director, has come out against these allegations, stating that the case flowed smoothly and that there were no intended delays in arresting Johnston, once her connection to Palin was known. “We worked very hard to make sure we conducted it just as fairly and as normally as any other investigation.” Public safety commissioner Joe Masters backs up Holloway’s position, stating that Young has no idea what had gone on behind the scene in order to assure that the investigation was fair and normal and that the trooper jumped to conclusions about the case.