LANSING, Mich. – An arrest warrant has been issued for former Michigan State University gymnastics coach Kathie Klages for lying to police when she denied knowing about Larry Nassar's abuse.
Klages spent 27 years at MSU as a gymnastics coach and was one of Larry Nassar's most vocal defenders until just about the bitter end.
Klages was suspended from MSU on Feb. 13, 2017 and announced her retirement one day later. She has not made any public statements since then.
Thursday, the Michigan Attorney General's Office announced charges against Klages. She is facing two felony counts of lying to special investigators. They said she lied when she denied that Nassar victims told her they were assaulted by him.
READ: Former MSU gymnastics coach charged with lying to investigators about knowledge of Nassar's abuse
Klages held a team meeting the day the initial story appeared in the Indianapolis Star in Sept. 2016. In that report, Rachael Denhollander went on record saying she had been assaulted by Nassar.
Klages allegedly passionately defended Nassar to the gymnasts, and a few days later even brought in a "thinking of you" card for the team to sign for him.
Her defense of Nassar's vaginal manipulation treatment continued for months after Nassar was fired. At one point she told the team she believed the child pornography found on his computer was a set-up.
Months later, Klages told investigators Nassar had deceived her for decades.