Does a family that brawls together stay together?
Sarah Palin and her family were at the center of a lively snowmobile party Saturday, sponsored by the annual Iron Dog snowmobile race, when it erupted into a mass drunken brawl, with the former governor's son and daughter both throwing punches, a man who says he was a guest at the party told ABC News.
The fight involved "roughly 20 people" and had to eventually be broken up by police around 11 p.m. on Saturday night, Wonkette.com first reported Thursday. According to witnesses, the party had been held to celebrate several birthdays of former participants in the Iron Dog snowmobile race, including Todd Palin.
According to Amanda Coyne, an Alaskan political blogger, Palin, along with husband Todd and kids Bristol, Willow and Track, arrived in a stretch Hummer. Soon after, 25-year-old Track allegedly attacked another party guest who had previously dated his younger sister, 20-year-old Willow, Eric Thompson said, adding that he was among 70 guests at the birthday party in South Anchorage, Alaska.
"Track Palin stumbles out of a stretch Hummer, and immediately spots an ex-boyfriend of Willow's. Track isn't happy with this guy, the story goes. There are words, and more," Coyne reported.
The owner of the house, Chris Olds, got involved and claimed he was struck by Bristol several times, according to BBC News.
"She was punching him [another man] in the face like six times; it was an assault if I've ever seen one," Thompson said. "It wasn't a light punch either. She was really hitting him. I'm surprised he just sat there and took it."
"I heard Sarah Palin yell do you know who I am? All of us could not believe it. We thought we were watching an episode of 'Jerry Springer,'" he said, adding that the Palins were asked to leave when the altercation turned ugly.
Anchorage police were called to the scene just before midnight, with Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Castro confirming to the New York Daily News that "some of the Palin family members" got into the messy fight, where a "physical altercation [was] taking place between multiple subjects." A spokesman added, "Alcohol was believed to have been a factor in the incident."
Since the case is still active and an investigation is ongoing, police reports were not disclosed. However, no arrests have been made since "at the time of the incident, none of the involved parties wanted to press charges," Castro said.
"I gave a statement to police; my wife did and like 10 other people did," Thompson said.
Meanwhile, the Palin family could not be reached for comment, UK MailOnline reported.
