Nicola Sturgeon, the former First Minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) has been arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into the party’s finances.
Sturgeon is perhaps best known in the United States as a one-time foil to Donald Trump and his Scottish golf properties. After she left office, the former President declared: “Good riddance to failed woke extremist Nicola Sturgeon of Scotland! This crazed leftist symbolises everything wrong with identity politics.”
According to Police Scotland, Sturgeon “is in custody and is being questioned by Police Scotland detectives.”
“A report will be sent to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service,” the police added.
The ongoing investigation – known as “Operation Branchform” – is examining potential fundraising fraud within the party, concerns about which initially began in 2017 after a Labour Party member of the Scottish Parliament demanded the Electoral Commission look into whether the SNP was spending fundraising money on political campaigns.
In April this year, Sturgeon’s husband and former CEO of the SNP, Peter Murrell, was arrested and spent 12 hours in police custody. That same day, Sturgeon’s house and the SNP’s Edinburgh-based headquarters were searched by police officers in connection to the alleged offenses.