'I can take your life': Son accuses ex-GOP governor of 'threatening' behavior
The adopted son of former Gov. Matt Bevin (R-KY) described Bevin as "manipulative" and "threatening" as he seeks a protective order against him, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported Friday.
Jonah Bevin, 18, "appeared alongside [his father] and former Kentucky first lady Glenna Bevin in a Jefferson Family Court in downtown Louisville Friday morning," said the report. "Judge Angela Johnson entered an emergency protective order sought by Jonah on March 7, ordering Matt Bevin to have no contact with Jonah, to remain at least 500 feet away from him, and to surrender any firearms in his possession until the matter was heard in court."
The Bevins, whose divorce was finalized this month, have five biological children and four adopted children. While he served as governor of Kentucky, Bevin frequently championed adoption and the foster care system, urging people to take part.
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"The Bevins adopted Jonah from Ethiopia when he was 5. Up until a few weeks ago, Jonah was homeless and living in Utah," said the report. "Neither Matt nor Glenna had extensive contact with Jonah for months until recently, when they both contacted him about traveling to Ethiopia to visit his birth mother, whom Jonah had long been told was dead, he testified Friday" — and Jonah was afraid the couple were luring him into an international trip to abandon him in his birth country.
According to the report, Jonah told the court that Bevin has exhibited a pattern of "manipulative" and "threatening" behavior, including times when he would “threaten to euthanize the dog for punishment” and tell Jonah, "I can take your life."
This comes after reports last year that an unidentified one of Bevin's four adopted children had to be removed from an abusive facility in Jamaica where kids were beaten, deprived of food, and made to live in filthy conditions.
Bevin's tenure as governor, which ended after one term when he was defeated by Democratic now-Gov. Andy Beshear, was fraught with controversy that even put him on the outs with many members of his own party, with even his own lieutenant governor abandoning him. One of his final acts before leaving office was to pardon a number of people convicted of serious crimes, including a child rapist he insisted was innocent because his 9-year-old victim's hymen was intact.