Kyle Chrisley is headed back into a Tennessee courtroom spotlight. A Rutherford County grand jury indicted him on a slate of criminal charges tied to a December arrest, according to court records. The eldest son of reality-TV figures Todd and Julie Chrisley is accused of striking and threatening deputies who showed up to what police described as a domestic disturbance, the latest chapter in a long-running legal streak for the family.
According to WKRN, the grand jury returned three counts of assault on law enforcement, three counts of retaliation for past action, one count of resisting arrest, one count of disorderly conduct, and one count of public intoxication. The charges stem from Chrisley’s December 2025 arrest in Rutherford County. Court records reviewed by the station indicate prosecutors believe the alleged offenses happened as deputies responded to the call in late 2025.
Court documents obtained by local outlets allege Chrisley threatened "to kill" an officer and "unlawfully and knowingly" struck a deputy, according to reporting by WBLS. Those filings say he hit a law-enforcement officer with a hand or fist and made death threats during the run-in. None of the allegations has been proven in court.
WKRN also reports that a misdemeanor domestic-assault charge related to the December incident was dismissed after the grand jury handed down the indictment. That move is largely procedural, since felony indictments can lead to the dismissal of connected misdemeanors as a case shifts into circuit court. The dropped count does not affect the new felony accusations that now sit on the docket.
Chrisley and his wife, Ashleigh, had already taken Rutherford County and two sheriff’s deputies to court before this latest arrest. They filed a lawsuit in August 2025 seeking about $1.7 million and accusing officials of false arrest and excessive force in an earlier encounter, according to Fox News. His December arrest followed prior clashes with law enforcement, including an aggravated-assault arrest in September 2024 and other bookings documented by local outlet WGNS. In their filings, the couple has maintained that Chrisley was the victim in at least one earlier dispute.
What the charges mean
Under Tennessee law, "retaliation for past action" is a criminal offense classified as a Class E felony. The statute covers harming or threatening to harm a law-enforcement officer because of that officer’s official actions, as outlined by Law.justia. Assault on public servants or first responders can also bring enhanced penalties, depending on factors such as injuries or other aggravating details. Any eventual punishment will hinge on how prosecutors decide to move forward and what evidence comes out at trial.
Next steps
The grand-jury indictment now pushes the case into Rutherford County’s circuit-court system, where arraignment, discovery, and pretrial scheduling will follow once the case is formally placed on the calendar. Future court filings and docket entries will spell out upcoming hearings and any adjustments to the charges as the prosecution and defense work the case through the courts.
