Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison Denies Allegation He Abused Ex-Girlfriend

Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison has denied accusations that he abused his ex-girlfriend after the woman's son claimed to have seen seen hundreds of angry messages the congressman allegedly sent to his mother and a video in which Ellison allegedly drags her off the bed “by her feet.”

The allegations surfaced on Saturday when Austin Aslim Monahan, the son of Karen Monahan, wrote a long Facebook post where he contended “both Democrats and Republicans could care less when it comes to violence toward women and girls.”

Ellison, a six-term Democratic congressman running for state attorney general, denied the allegations.

“Karen and I were in a long-term relationship which ended in 2016, and I still care deeply for her well-being," he says in a statement to Oxygen.com.

“This video does not exist because I never behaved in this way, and any characterization otherwise is false,” the statement reads.

The allegations arose just days before the Democratic primary for Minnesota attorney general Tuesday.

“I found over 100 text and twitters messages and video almost 2 min long that showed Keith Ellison dragging my mama off the bed by her feet, screaming and calling her a “f---ing b--ch” and telling her to get the f--k out of his house,” Austin Monahan wrote in the post.

He said he found the record of those messages in a computer belonging to his mother.

“Sitting all this time, watching what our mom went through and not being able to say or do anything was hard as hell,” Austin Monahan wrote, adding that after he spoke with his mother later that night to confirm what he found, she asked him and his brother not to share the information in public as it would affect her negatively.

“None of you know the hell our family has gone through. I don’t think half of you would even care. We watched her so called political friends stand by say or do nothing.”

Karen Monahan has since spoken up about the issue. An unverified Twitter profile under her name claimed on Sunday evening, “What my son said is true. Every statement he made was true. @keithellison, you know you did that to me. I have given every opportunity to get help and heal. Even now, u r willing to say my son is lying and have me continue to leak more text and info just so others will believe him.”

The profile has more than 3,000 followers and identifies Monahan as an organizer “raising awareness around narcissist abuse.”

While specific details of the text messages — and a copy of the alleged video — were unavailable, Austin Monahan wrote in the Facebook post that his mother’s text exchanges with Ellison were “mixed with him consistently telling my mom he wanted her back, he missed her, he knew he f--ked up and we wished he could do things different, he would victim [shame], bully her, and threaten her if she went public.”

Ellison, who has been in office since 2007, represents Minnesota’s 5th congressional district. He also serves as the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee. 

Karen Monahan has received mixed responses on social media for revealing her alleged abuse the weekend before the Democratic primary for state attorney general. Some expressed suspicion at the timing while others offered their support. 

“I was well prepared for the smears, etc.,” Monahan wrote on Twitter Monday morning. “It is exactly what I wanted to bring to light. This issue is so much bigger than my story, but with each story that surfaces, we make a dent each time and it brings us closer to justice.”

Monahan did not respond to requests for comment from Oxygen.com.

[Photo: Keith Ellison. By Alex Wong/Getty Images]