TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An incoming Kansas lawmaker who has faced a possible attempt to oust him once he took office has reached a legal agreement with a woman who accused him of harassment to end an anti-stalking court order against him, an attorney says.
The order entered by a state court judge last month against Rep.-elect Aaron Coleman was a key reason for the Kansas House’s top Democrat to refuse to give the 20-year-old Kansas City, Kansas, Democrat any committee assignments. Minority Leader Tom Sawyer also had cited it as one of multiple reasons to try to expel Coleman from the House once the Legislature convenes Monday, and he said the effort still would go forward.
Barry Grissom, an attorney representing Brandie Armstrong, the woman who accused Coleman of harassing her last year, sent The Associated Press a statement saying the two had settled a civil lawsuit she filed that led to the judge’s no-contact restraining order. Armstrong was campaign manager for the veteran lawmaker Coleman narrowly defeated in the Democratic primary in August.
“Brandie Armstrong and Aaron Coleman are passionate about helping their constituents,” Grissom said in the statement, sent Wednesday to The AP. “In service to their constituents, they have resolved the civil case by an agreed upon dismissal.”
But Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who had called Coleman unfit to serve in the House, said the settlement changes “not a thing.”
“He is still not fit to serve in the Kansas state Legislature,” she said.
Sawyer said he expects a complaint against Coleman to be filed in the House next week. That would force the appointment of a bipartisan committee to investigate and could lead to a vote by the full chamber, where a two-thirds majority would be necessary to oust Coleman.
The statement about Coleman’s settlement said there is no written agreement between him and Armstrong but a “public promise to treat each other with dignity and respect.” Coleman had faced a March 8 trial in Armstrong’s lawsuit against him to determine whether the restraining order remained in place longer.
The statement said neither Coleman nor Armstrong would comment further.
But, responding to a text from The Associated Press, Coleman replied that he is “ready to focus on governing.”
“It is time for a return to civility,” Coleman texted. “We are all Americans. The time for Democrats, Republicans and concerned citizens to end the infighting to come together as Americans is now.”
Armstrong said in her request for the court order that Coleman repeatedly sent harassing texts and personal messages to her during the campaign, came to her home in June and October and attempted to file “false and bogus” complaints against her landlord to try to get her evicted. Coleman suggested in a text last week to The Associated Press that she had lied in making her request.
Coleman ran on a progressive platform that included providing universal health coverage, ending college tuition and legalizing marijuana. He won his primary race even after admitting on social media that he had circulated revenge porn as a “sick and troubled” middle school-aged boy. He faced only write-in candidates in the general election, as at least two other cases in which he was accused of threatening or abusing girls or young women came to light.
Sawyer said another “pretty serious” reason to expel Coleman is a now-deleted, post-November election tweet in which Coleman suggested that Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly would face an “extremely bloody” primary in 2022 for not being progressive enough. Coleman wrote, “People will realize one day when I call a hit out on you it’s real,” and later said he meant to use the phrase ”political hit.”
Rep.-elect Jo Ella Hoye of Lenexa, one of seven incoming female Democrats in the House to call on Coleman last month to resign before being seated, said the tweet was unacceptable.
“Words do matter, and we need to hold our elected officials to a higher standard,” she said. “We need to be prioritizing coming together, and we’ve got to start with what we’re saying and what we’re putting out to the general public.”
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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An incoming Kansas lawmaker who faced a possible attempt to oust him once he took office has reached a legal agreement with a woman who accused him of harassment to end an anti-stalking court order against him, an attorney says.
The order entered by a state court judge last month against Rep.-elect Aaron Coleman was a key reason for the Kansas House’s top Democrat to refuse to give the 20-year-old Kansas City, Kansas, Democrat, any committee assignments. Minority Leader Tom Sawyer also has cited it as a reason to try to expel Coleman from the House once the Legislature convenes Monday.
Barry Grissom, an attorney representing Brandie Armstrong, the woman who accused Coleman of harassing her last year, sent The Associated Press a statement saying the two had settled a civil lawsuit she filed that led to the judge’s no-contact restraining order. Armstrong was campaign manager for the veteran lawmaker Coleman narrowly defeated in the Democratic primary in August.
“Brandie Armstrong and Aaron Coleman are passionate about helping their constituents,” Grissom said in the statement, sent Wednesday to The AP. “In service to their constituents, they have resolved the civil case by an agreed upon dismissal.”
The statement said there is no written agreement but a “public promise to treat each other with dignity and respect.” Coleman had faced a March 8 trial in Armstrong’s lawsuit against him to determine whether the restraining order remained in place longer.
The statement said neither Coleman nor Armstrong would comment further. Coleman did not immediately respond to a text Thursday morning seeking to confirm that.
Armstrong said in her request for the court order that Coleman repeatedly sent harassing texts and personal messages to her during the campaign, came to her home in June and October and attempted to file “false and bogus” complaints against her landlord to try to get her evicted. Coleman suggested in a text last week to The Associated Press that she had lied in making her request.
Coleman ran on a progressive platform that included providing universal health coverage, ending college tuition and legalizing marijuana. He won his primary race even after admitting on social media that he had circulated revenge porn as a “sick and troubled” middle school-aged boy. He faced only write-in candidates in the general election, as at least two other cases in which he was accused of threatening or abusing girls or young women came to light.
Sawyer has said another reason to expel Coleman is a now-deleted, post-November election tweet in which Coleman suggested that Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly would face an “extremely bloody” primary in 2022 for not being progressive enough. Coleman wrote, “People will realize one day when I call a hit out on you it’s real,” and later said he meant to use the phrase ”political hit.”
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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The top Democrat in the Kansas House has refused to give an incoming lawmaker any committee assignments over issues that include an anti-stalking court order filed against him after he won his seat.
Minority Leader Tom Sawyer’s action is a sign that he and fellow Democrats plan to oust Rep.-elect Aaron Coleman of Kansas City, Kansas, once the Republican-controlled Legislature convenes its next annual 90-day session on Jan. 11. Sawyer and seven incoming female Democratic House members have called for Coleman to resign before lawmakers convene.
The 20-year-old Coleman narrowly ousted a veteran lawmaker in the Democratic primary in August even after admitting on social media that he had circulated revenge porn as a “sick and troubled” middle school-aged boy. He faced only write-in candidates in the general election, as at least two other cases in which he was accused of threatening or abusing girls or young women came to light.
A woman who ran his primary opponent’s campaign accused him of harassing her, and a judge issued a no-contact order on Dec. 4. A trial is set for March 8 to determine whether that order will remain in place longer.
“Since we don’t plan on seating him, there’s no reason to give him committee assignments,” Sawyer, from Wichita, said Thursday of Coleman.
Sawyer said another reason to expel Coleman is a now-deleted, post-November election tweet in which Coleman suggested that Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly would face an “extremely bloody” primary in 2022 for not being progressive enough. Coleman wrote, “People will realize one day when I call a hit out on you it’s real,” and later said he meant to use the phrase ”political hit.”
Sawyer’s refusal to assign Coleman to any committees was first reported by the Sunflower State Journal.
Sawyer said Democratic lawmakers plan to file a complaint against Coleman, which would force an investigation. The full House would have to approve expelling Coleman by a two-thirds majority, or 84 of 125 seats.
“This restraining order was after the election — and actually the hit on the governor,” Sawyer said. “He’s done at least two things after that point.”
Coleman has questioned whether he can be expelled for conduct that occurred before he took his seat, and his supporters on social media have portrayed his critics within the party as “corporate” Democrats. Coleman won the primary on a progressive platform that included providing universal health coverage, ending college tuition and legalizing marijuana, and he is promising to push to raise the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $17.25 an hour by 2032.
“You may not like me very much but in our democratic system my conduct is a question for voters and it was put to voters and the voters elected me,” he said in text to The Associated Press.
Coleman also accused the woman who obtained the restraining order against him, Brandie Armstrong, of lying to the court, adding that, “A lot of people are going to have egg on their faces.”
Armstrong said in her request for the order that Coleman repeatedly sent harassing texts and personal messages to her during the campaign, came to her home in June and October and attempted to file “false and bogus” complaints against her landlord to try to get her evicted. She referred questions Thursday to her attorneys, who declined to comment.
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