Clarice Schillinger (via candidate Facebook page).
A Pennsylvania politician who advocated for “parental rights” in education is accused of punching a teenager during an alcohol-fueled party she threw for her daughter.
Clarice Schillinger, 36, is charged with assault, harassment, and selling or furnishing liquor to a minor, according to court records. She reportedly tussled with a teenage boy during a basement birthday party for her 17-year-old daughter in September.
Police say they were called to the house Schillinger had rented since early 2023 at around 3 a.m. on Sept. 30, according to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime. The basement party had started at around 10 p.m. the night before, and around 15-20 minors between the ages of 15 and 18 were in attendance, police say. At Schillinger’s direction, the party was being held in the basement.
“In the basement was a bar area that was stocked with alcoholic beverages to include New Amsterdam vodka and Malibu Bay Breeze rum,” the affidavit says. “Schillinger not only provided the alcoholic beverages, but poured shots and drank along with the minors, even participating in drinking games” such as beer pong.
According to one of the teens at the party, a fight broke out between the adults in the early morning hours of Sept. 30, and the teens in attendance started to make their way out of the house.
“Schillinger’s intoxicated boyfriend (Shan Wilson) had punched a 15 year old juvenile (identified as E.G.) in the face, causing her to escort her boyfriend upstairs to the second floor,” a teen identified by the initials A.M. told police, according to the affidavit. Once there, Wilson allegedly assaulted A.M., the affidavit says.
Schillinger’s mother also reportedly got in on the action, allegedly punching A.M., a teenager, in the eye and chasing him around a kitchen island before assaulting a 17-year-old girl, police say.
Despite the violence, Schillinger wanted the party to continue.
“While multiple minors were gathering by the front door to leave the property in defiance of Schillinger’s order to stay,” a teen was “assaulted by Clarice when she punched him three times on the left side of his face/chin area,” the affidavit says. The teen told police that he wasn’t injured.
The document notes that several cellphone videos were captured that showed the violence erupting during the party.
This was the second time in about a week that cops had been called to the house for similar reasons, the affidavit states.
“A recent[] contact at this residence was for another possible underage drinking party around midnight on Sunday, September 24, 2023,” the affidavit says. “Multiple beer cans were observed by officers around the property and in the street and approximately 20 minors that fled into the house upon arrival.”
At the time, police say, Schillinger was “intoxicated and uncooperative with police.”
Schillinger, a Republican, unsuccessfully ran for the role of lieutenant governor in the Keystone State in 2022, coming in fourth in the primary election. She is linked to a super PAC out of Doylestown called “Back to School USA.” The PAC is part of the so-called “parental rights” school movement, a conservative political effort that focuses on installing school board members who argue that liberal and left-wing policies are indoctrinating schoolchildren.
Her Facebook page provides a link to the organization, but it no longer appears functional.
“Back To School USA is really going to be focused on putting candidates in place that will put our children and their education first,” Schillinger said in July 2022 of the group, according to USA Today. “Right now, we are not doing that. We are more focused on these woke and gender ideas.”
Schillinger’s lawyer says his client will be absolved.
“Ms. Schillinger has dedicated her life to public service,” attorney Matthew Brittenburg said in a statement emailed to Law&Crime. “Additionally, she has always been a law abiding citizen. Ms. Schillinger looks forward to the opportunity to defend against these allegations.”
According to court records, Schillinger has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Jan. 29, 2024.
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