State Rep. John Thompson is disputing the authenticity of police reports that detail several abuse allegations against him, according to a statement issued by his lawyer on Sunday.
Rep. John Thompson questions "authenticity" of police reports detailing domestic violence allegations
Five police reports from 2003-2011 include allegations that he hit or choked women.
July 19, 2021 at 10:22AM
Top Democratic leaders — including Gov. Tim Walz — have called for the first-time lawmaker to step down but Thompson has said he will not resign.
Thompson "challenges the authenticity" of the five police reports and said that he and his wife, the only person he would have been with at the time, deny the allegations, said Thompson's attorney, Jordan Kushner.
The reports, Kushner said, were likely circulated to the press by a law enforcement group engaged in a "smear campaign" against the first-term lawmaker.
Fox 9 first reported the allegations on Friday night. On Sunday, Fox 9 reporter Tom Lyden released copies of the police reports, saying he started asking local police departments for reports when he was investigating where Thompson lived.
Lyden said he saw a pattern of domestic cases and wrote the story.
The five police reports from Superior, Wis., Eagan and St. Paul detail incidents from 2003 through 2011 in which Thompson allegedly hit or choked a woman or women. Several make reference to children being present.
According to the Wisconsin report, Thompson threatened and ran from officers and resisted arrest.
"The alleged acts of violence against multiple women outlined in these reports are serious and deeply disturbing," Walz said in a statement on Saturday, calling for Thompson's immediate resignation.
Thompson has been under scrutiny since July 4, when a St. Paul police officer pulled him over because his car lacked a front license plate.
He said he believes the stop, in which he was cited for driving under suspension, was a result of racial profiling.
The traffic stop also brought attention to his previous record and raised questions about Thompson's residency. He presented a Wisconsin driver's license to the officer who pulled him over and said that he has never had a Minnesota license.
On Saturday night, Thompson's wife, Aleatha Cleveann Austin, who goes by My'Leetha Cleveann on Facebook, posted that she felt like her family was under attack.
"I LOVE MY HUSBAND," she wrote, ending the post with "WE ARE NOT RESIGNING."
The special election Nov. 5 will determine whether the GOP flips control of the state Senate or the DFL stays in charge.
