Judge Orders Arrest of Former Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin Over Contempt

Jefferson Family Court Judge Angela Johnson sentenced former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin to 60 days in jail after finding him in contempt of court for failing to disclose financial details in a year-long legal battle with his estranged son, Jonah Bevin. Bevin can avoid the sentence by providing unredacted financial documents and paying $500.

Court records show that an order of arrest was entered on Tuesday. The judge's order directs any police officer in Kentucky to arrest him. Bevin will be able to avoid jail time if he pays a $500 fine and provides the requested financial records.

The contempt finding centers on Bevin's repeated failure to produce documents the court had been seeking for months. The court found that Bevin failed to provide supporting documentation showing income from eight business interests, including his 31% ownership stake in a medical technology company called Neuronetrix Solutions, LLC. Bevin argued the 48-hour deadline to produce records was unreasonable and made compliance impossible. Judge Johnson rejected that argument without hesitation. She called the argument disingenuous, noting Bevin had been on notice to provide the information for more than nine months. "Not only has he actively worked to conceal his finances from the Court and Jonah, but he has also intentionally misrepresented the Court's statements on the record," Johnson said. The judge also stated Bevin provided false testimony during a March 20 hearing and continuously spoke over the court.

Bevin had been ordered to appear in court in person on Tuesday or face jail time. He did not, saying he was at Glenna's father's funeral in Oklahoma. Instead, he appeared via Zoom. Since he did not appear in person, Judge Johnson issued a warrant for his arrest.

The night before the hearing, Bevin escalated his legal counteroffensive. On Monday, Bevin filed a motion to the chief justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court, asking her to remove Johnson from the case, alleging she was biased against him. In an affidavit, Bevin called the judge a "political pinata" and accused her of "making up the rules as she goes along." He went further, writing: "It is likewise clear to me that Judge Johnson's decisions are being motivated by her personal desire for 'earned media' as a government employee who must seek re-election to remain a circuit court judge in the future." Jonah's attorneys, Helmers and Hettiaratchi, pushed back: they said of Bevin that "the judge has done nothing but give him a fair shot."

At the center of the case is Jonah, 19, one of four children the Bevins adopted from Ethiopia in 2012. He alleged in court filings that his parents abandoned him at age 17 in a brutally abusive youth facility in Jamaica that was closed by authorities in 2024. He alleges Bevin is hiding funds from him that he is owed, which is why a judge ordered Bevin to comply with an order to submit certain financial disclosures. His ex-wife Glenna has complied with those same disclosures. Jonah described the legal delay as something he simply cannot afford. "I'm a teenager with no support, no resources and no ability to wait him out while he does everything he can to avoid sitting down with a judge," he said. "I'm not a legal strategy. I'm his kid and the clock is running."

Bevin, a Republican, was elected governor in 2015 and served one term, defeated by a close margin in 2019 by current Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. Johnson said Bevin could still avoid the jail sentence once he produced the financial information he was ordered to turn over to the court, including tax returns, bank statements, and details of all assets and income.