Trouble continues for Kentucky ex-governor

Voters in Kentucky may be vindicated for sending Gov. Matt Bevin (R) packing after just one term, now that his personal life appears to be in disarray.

Bevin, a Republican who served as Kentucky governor from 2015 until 2019, was arrested Thursday and ordered to spend 60 days in jail and pay a $500 fine in connection with divorce proceedings and child support.

‘If he would do what’s right, like I require every other person that comes in here, then I will happily rescind that bench warrant.’

Records from Jefferson County Jail in Louisville show that Bevin, 59, was arrested for contempt of court.

Bevin’s wife, Glenna Bevin, filed for divorce in 2023 and seems to have submitted the required financial documents. Bevin, however, allegedly has not.

Jonah Bevin, one of the estranged couple’s four adopted children from Ethiopia, has also intervened and is seeking financial support, claiming his parents abandoned him at a facility in Jamaica. Glenna and Matt Bevin have five biological children as well.

In March, Jefferson Family Court Judge Angela Johnson held Bevin in contempt of court, determining that he had not submitted the necessary records, including bank statements and tax returns. Bevin argued he does not have a typical income stream and instead lives on interest and investments.

“You didn’t do what you were supposed to do when you were supposed to do it,” Judge Johnson ruled at the time, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

RELATED: Democratic Kentucky governor demands McConnell RESIGN if he can’t PROVE his capacity to serve

John Sommers II/Getty Images

Bevin was ordered to attend a hearing in May in person, but attempted to attend via Zoom instead, claiming he could not appear in person because a boulder had fallen on a house he owns in Maine.

Judge Johnson then ordered Bevin to submit the documents by June 5 or she would issue a bench warrant. That deadline came and went, and Bevin’s attorney requested further clarification on the documents needed.

Johnson rejected that request and kept the bench warrant in place. “This is not rocket science. … Counsel knows what is required to establish child support, so it’s not like the court has to guide you as if you’re still in law school on what is required,” she said in June, according to the Herald-Leader.

“If he would do what’s right, like I require every other person that comes in here, then I will happily rescind that bench warrant, but he needs to do what’s right.”

In July, Bevin allegedly tried to attend yet another hearing via Zoom but was denied. “Mr. Bevin made that decision not to be here, but you know, he’s going to pay for it in that he doesn’t get to go under oath and present his side of the story,” Judge Johnson said.

The bench warrant remained in place, leading to his arrest this week.

The respective attorneys for Matt and Jonah Bevin did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

Bevin was elected in 2015 and narrowly lost re-election to current Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear. In 2019, Beshear defeated Bevin 49.2% to 48.8%, a difference of about 5,000 votes.

On his way out the door, Bevin issued a flurry of controversial pardons, including of a child rapist. Micah Schoettle was convicted in 2018 of raping a 9-year-old girl and sentenced to 23 years behind bars, but the pardon from Bevin allowed him to walk out of prison after less than 18 months.

When asked about the shocking pardon, Bevin claimed that evidence showed the girl’s hymen was still intact.

“This is perhaps more specific than people would want, but trust me, if you have been repeatedly sexually violated as a small child by an adult, there are going to be repercussions of that physically and medically,” Bevin said in December 2019.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!