Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) on Sunday denied allegations that he had abused an ex-girlfriend — allegations which surfaced after the woman’s son posted about the alleged incident on Facebook.
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that Austin Aslim Monahan on Saturday night posted to Facebook that he watched a video in which Ellison dragged his mother, Karen, off a bed and shouted profanities at her. The post quickly went viral.
“Karen and I were in a relationship which ended in 2016, and I still care deeply for her well-being,” Ellison said in a statement to the Star-Tribune through his campaign.
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“This video does not exist because I never behaved in this way, and any characterization otherwise is false,” Ellison said in the statement.
Ellison’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Hill.
Austin Aslim Monahan told the Star-Tribune on Saturday that he does not have possession of the video he described, but stood by his claims.
On Sunday afternoon, Karen Monahan took to Twitter to confirm her son’s allegations, the Star-Tribune reported.
An account that appears to belong to Karen Monahan tweeted that what her son said is true, and that Ellison knows “you did that to me.”
She added in a subsequent tweet that she expressed concerns about the incident before Ellison declared his run for attorney general.
A reporter for the Star-Tribune went to Karen Monahan’s apartment on Sunday and said a woman who identified herself as Karen said she was not ready to speak to the media.
The Star-Tribune reported that it found no incidents between Karen Monahan and Ellison in court records.
Ellison, who announced in June his plans to step down from Congress and run for attorney general, will face four other Democrats in a primary on Tuesday to determine the party’s nominee for attorney general.
Among the most liberal lawmakers in Congress, Ellison rose to political prominence in the past year and was tapped to become second in command of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) after losing a tight contest for the chairmanship to Tom Perez.
Ellison is expected to remain on in his role as deputy director at the DNC even as he runs for attorney general.