Keith Ellison accused by former girlfriend of emotional, physical abuse: What to know
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}While senators grapple over what to do with the sexual assault accusation levied against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, a Minnesota political activist is continuing to allege Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., was physically and emotionally abusive when they dated.
Karen Monahan, a Sierra Club activist, accused Ellison of abuse in August after her son publicly posted the allegations on social media. She said Ellison dragged her off a bed while shouting profanities at her and sent multiple abusive text messages.
“You know you did that to me,” Monahan said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ellison, the Democratic nominee for attorney general in Minnesota, has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Read on for a look at what exactly has been alleged.
What are the allegations?
Monahan’s son, Austin, posted a lengthy Facebook status on Aug. 11 about messages Ellison allegedly sent her that were angry, threatening and shaming. He also said he saw a video of Ellison allegedly dragging his mother off a bed by her feet, “screaming and calling her a f****** b****’ and telling her to get the f*** out of his house.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“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,” Austin Monahan said.
On Aug. 12, Monahan said her son’s allegations were “true” in a tweet.
“You know you did that to me,” Monahan said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She has published on Twitter what she said are screenshots of text messages between her and Ellison, but none of them explicitly detail physical violence. But she’s rejected requests to release the purported video because she said it would be too “humiliating.”
She did, however, release what appears to be a medical document from 2017 that detailed abuse allegedly caused by Ellison.
The document, written by a doctor, notes that Monahan informed them “she was in a very stressful environment for years, emotional and physical abuse by a partner with whom she is now separated.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“She identifies the individual she was involved with as congressman Ellison [sic], and she is worried about retribution if she identifies him publicly,” the document said. “She feels that she is in a safe environment now and she is following up with therapy and relaxation. She has had reduced anxiety with extracting herself from the relationship and she feels much healthier now.”
Monahan has also accused Democrats of having “smeared, threatened, isolated” her from her own party.
“Four people, including my supervisor at the time, stated that I came to them after and shared the exact story I shared publicly,” she has said. “I shared multiple texts between me and Keith, where I discuss the abuse with him and much more. As I said before, I knew I wouldn't be believed.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}How has Ellison responded?
“Karen and I were in a long-term relationship which ended in 2016, and I still care for her well-being. This video does not exist because I never behaved in this way, and any characterization otherwise is false,” Ellison said in a statement released by his campaign in August.
What has happened since the allegations surfaced?
Just days after Monahan’s allegations came to light, Ellison won the Democratic primary for Minnesota’s attorney general.
The Democratic National Committee had said it would review the allegations as well. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party has also opened an investigation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ellison is the deputy DNC chairman.
Fox News’ Lukas Mikelionis and Gregg Re contributed to this report.