Keith Ellison denies abusing ex-girlfriend, says video ‘does not exist’

Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison on Sunday denied allegations of physical and verbal abuse of a former girlfriend that surfaced just days before Minnesota’s primary election.

The six-term congressman, who is running against four other Democrats for the state’s open attorney general’s seat, also denied the existence of a video that purports to show him dragging his ex-girlfriend off a bed.

“I still care deeply for her well-being,” Mr. Ellison said in a written statement. “This video does not exist because I never behaved in this way, and any characterization otherwise is false.”

Austin Monahan, the 25-year-old son of Karen Monahan, alleged in a Facebook post Saturday that he found a two-minute video on his mother’s computer that showed Mr. Ellison dragging her off a bed and screaming profanity at her. He also claimed to have seen hundreds of text messages showing Mr. Ellison verbally and mentally abusing his mother.

Democratic candidates Debra Hilstrom, Matt Pelikan and Tom Foley all separately called for Mr. Ellison to address the claims, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

The alleged video has not surfaced. There were no police reports or court documents confirming the incident, MPR reported. More than 100 text and Twitter messages between Mr. Ellison and Ms. Monahan also showed no evidence of the alleged physical abuse, MPR reported.

Ms. Monahan, an organizer with the Sierra Club, reportedly tagged Mr. Ellison in a number of her social media posts about the #MeToo movement. She told MPR in a statement that her son was “brave and courageous” for coming forward on her behalf.

“He knew I was ready to share my story,” she said. “I told them to brace themselves because I would be smeared. I took down my Facebook about two days ago, because I didn’t want them seeing nasty messages sent to me.”

Kim Ellison, Mr. Ellison’s ex-wife, defended her ex-husband in an statement Sunday.

“We may be divorced, but we are still a family,” she wrote, MPR reported. “I want members of our community to know that the behavior described does not match the character of the Keith I know.”