(Updated to include Facebook comments from supporter.)
Overland Park Police on Saturday night arrested Democratic state Rep. Aaron Coleman on a charge of domestic violence, jail records show.
Coleman, who has previously acknowledged allegations of online bullying, blackmail and revenge porn, was arrested Saturday night shortly after 8 p.m., jail records show.
The Kansas City, Kansas legislator was booked into the Johnson County jail shortly after midnight on Sunday.
Coleman, 21, was still in custody as of about 9 a.m. Sunday, according to the jail. A court date was set for Nov. 1 at 1:30 p.m.
Details of the incident were immediately unavailable although it would be the latest in a string of controversies involving Coleman since before he was even elected to the Kansas House last year when he upset Democratic state Rep. Stan Frownfelter in the primary.
“This is extremely disturbing news,” House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer said in a statement.
“We are watching closely to make sure we gather all the facts. His constituents and the State of Kansas would be better served if he were to resign and get the help he badly needs.”
Just a couple of weeks ago, the Labor Department banned Coleman from its buildings because it said the lawmaker intimidated and berated agency employees in an effort to gain unauthorized access to its offices.
Labor Secretary Amber Shultz sent a letter to Coleman on Oct. 12 warning him that he could be arrested and prosecuted for trespassing after a confrontation with a law enforcement officer at the agency’s offices in the afternoon of Sept. 30.
The letter described Coleman’s demeanor as “disruptive, intimidating and berating.”
Earlier this year, a special House committee admonished Coleman, saying his conduct with young women was “unfitting” for a member of the Kansas House.
The letter warned Coleman that failure to comply may result in another complaint being filed against him that would likely result in a reprimand, censure or expulsion from the Legislature.
The panel did not take harsher action because his actions occurred before he was in the Legislature.
Coleman has been under fire from his own party after he acknowledged allegations of online bullying, blackmail and revenge porn when he was in middle school.
A former girlfriend also accused Coleman of slapping and choking her last year.
And later he was accused stalking Frownfelter’s former campaign manager and abusive behavior toward the House minority leader’s chief of staff.
Last October, The Kansas City Star reported that Coleman was arrested for threatening to shoot a student at a school in the Turner School District when he was 14 years old.
He eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor harassment charge.
A Coleman tweet from November sparked more talk about his removal.
Coleman went on Twitter and used the term “hit” in the context of criticizing Gov. Laura Kelly for not supporting Medicare for All and the Green New Deal.
House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr. weighed in on the latest development.
“Given what little we know about the situation, I am concerned for everyone involved,” Ryckman said.
“I know that law enforcement will thoroughly investigate and assess the situation so that we can take appropriate action,” Ryckman said.
Last year, a group of female lawmakers called for Coleman to resign from the Legislature because he showed no signs of changing his troubling conduct toward women.
On Sunday, a supporter of Coleman’s went on Facebook and shared information that she said was provided by the family about the incident – details which could not be confirmed.
“Aaron was arrested last night over a dispute with his brother,” Susan Stevens posted on Facebook..
“The only reason police were there was because Aaron called them due to thinking his phone had been stolen,” she wrote.
“And the only reason it was classed as domestic violence was that he was visiting at the home of his grandparents. It seems unlikely that any criminal charges will be filed.”
