Rep. Keith Ellison denies allegations of domestic abuse
(KMSP) - Representative Keith Ellison responded to allegations of domestic abuse Sunday following a post on social media by the son of his former girlfriend Karen Monahan.
According to the statement, Ellison denied the allegations, writing that "I never behaved in this way."
FULL STATEMENT FROM REP. KEITH ELLISON:
“Karen and I were in a long-term relationship which ended in 2016, and I still care deeply for her well-being. This video does not exist because I never behaved in this way, and any characterization otherwise is false.”
Karen Monahan released a full statement to Fox 9 Sunday night. In the statement, Monahan outlines what she calls Ellison's "narcissist abuse" of her during their relationship and makes other accusations about what occurred during their relationship.
Saturday evening, Austin Monahan wrote the following message on Facebook, accusing Rep. Keith Ellison of physically and emotionally abusing his mother:
Please read, if you care about my mother please share.
I love you momma, you wont have to stand alone
#ibelieveher
#wearemanenough
#timesup
Keith Ellison Keith Ellison for Attorney General Jason Sole Shvonne L Johnson Will Moore @Shiranthi Goonathilaka Stephen Davis Kiree Jamar Robinson Kendra Weiland Deanna Casablanca Valentine F Ndi Justin Monahan StarTribune.com Pioneer Press Lindsey Port Erin Maye Quade Debra Hilstrom Matt Pelikan Hosie Thurmond III
My name is Austin Monahan and I am writing this letter on behalf of me and my brother.
My brother and I watched our mom come out of pure hell after getting out of her relationship with Keith Ellison. For several months we knew something wasn’t right and couldn’t figure it out. When we asked our mom if everything was ok, she told us she was dealing with some stress and would be ok.
In the middle of 2017, I was using my moms computer trying to download something and I clicked on a file, I found over 100 text and twitters messages and video almost 2 min long that showed Keith Ellison dragging my mama off the bed by her feet, screaming and calling her a “f***ing b****” and telling her to get the f*** out of his house. The messages I found, were mixed with him consistently telling my mom he wanted her back, he missed her, he knew he f***ed up and we wished he could do things different, he would victim shaming, bully her, and threaten her if she went public. I text him and told him I know what you did to my mama and a few other things.
I met up with my mom that night and asked her what happened. She said nothing happened until I told her I saw a video and hell of a lot of messages saying something different. She finally talked. My brother and I were so angry and hurt for our mom. We were ready to go public but our mom begged us not to and she along with others convinced us it wasn’t in our moms best interest.
I saw message after message through out all that time, where my mom was telling him she wasn’t going back to him but still saw his humanity and offered restorative justice. I honestly don’t see how she would offer him that, but thats her choice.
Sitting all this time, watching what our mom went through and not being able to say or do anything was hard as hell. None of you know the hell our family has gone through. I don’t think half of you would even care. We watched her so called political friends stand by say or do nothing. People had an idea what happened and never reached out to my mom. The same people who are posting about social justice are ready to smear my mom, protect a person who abused her and broke the law. You think we give a s*** about a politics when we saw what our mom went through? She may not matter to none of you, but she is our mom, our kids grandmother and she is actually someone. There is a lot more he has done to my mom and others that we saw in the text but our mom can decide if and when she wants to tell the world that part.
Whether we saw the video or read all those messages, we still would have believed her if she had told us. #Ibelieveher
My mom has always tried to protect me and my brother. She doesn’t have to protect us anymore and we aren’t letting her stand alone. When we found out our mom was planning on sharing her story, that is all we needed to hear for us to share ours and stand with our mom. You want to smear someone, try to lie about a person who didn’t do s*** to deserve the ongoing emotional, physical abuse, smear me and my brother.
I use to believe the Democrats were the ones who would stand by a person who went through this kind of abuse, now I know both Democrats and Republicans could care less when it comes to violence toward women and girls.
I have learned a lot about how patriarchy has shaped me as a 25 year old through all this. I just became a father and I am working on how patriarchy influenced thoughts ad decisions I have made as a young man so I can teach my son better. I am starting today by standing with my mom, my sons grandma. It is not just on women and girls to speak out, it is on men to do some of the emotional work. I’m not here to prove s*** to anyone, I’m just stating facts. You can take it or leave it.
#Iammanenough
Mom, I am sure you are getting contacted about this post. Just know we love you and we are standing by you.
Austin Monahan
#Ibelieveher #wearemanenough #Timesup
RESPONSE FROM KAREN MONAHAN
Later Sunday, Monahan released a full statement to Fox 9. You can find the entire statement here.
RESPONSE FROM KIM ELLISON
Ellison's ex-wife Kim Ellison released a statement Sunday recalling positive moments of their relationship and after their divorce. She added, "I want members of our community know that the behavior described does not match the character of the Keith I know."
RESPONSE FROM DFL COMMUNITY
Attorney General candidate Tom Foley also released a statement Sunday, calling Ellison's denial "Trump-like."
Keith Ellison denied ever being abusive. But his brief response pales in comparison to the specific details offered by a son who said he saw video on his mother's computer of her physical abuse. Frankly, it was very Trump-like - a non-denial denial.
During my service as a prosecutor, I often heard similar details. So, I still have a lot of questions about what really happened here. If the victim and her family have evidence, then that should be turned over to the authorities for a criminal investigation. And as a potential criminal suspect, Keith Ellison should have absolutely no contact with the victim or her family.
As I mentioned in my earlier statement today: Domestic violence and sexual abuse are very serious issues and this incident should not be ignored in the heat of a political campaign. Minnesotans expect all elected officials, from the White House to the coutrhouse, to follow the law and maintain sound ethical behavior, and we owe it to them to pursue an investigation until all the facts are known.
We can't talk about being against domestic violence and violence against women if there is any question that we as a party and our candidates for public office don't live our lives accordingly.