Democratic Rep. Katie Porter blasts local police department for arresting man she lives with

California Democratic Congresswoman Katie Porter taunted a local police department for arresting a man she lived with after he allegedly assaulted a pro-Trump protester in July 2021.

After the incident, Porter sent a scathing text message to Irvine mayor Farrah Khan telling them their officers were a “disgrace.”

The leaked text message was reported by Fox news in September, more than a year after the event, and just over a month before Porter faces Republican Scott Baugh in a bid for reelection.

The fight took place at Porter’s first town hall after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, which was held in Irvine.

Julian Willis was arrested after apparently giving a Trump supporter a nosebleed, he was cited for his alleged role.

Willis’ relationship with Porter is unknown at this time. Porter has three children and is described in much of her campaign literature as a “single mother.”

In 2013, Porter divorced her husband and the father of her children, Matthew Hoffman, who accused him of mentally and physically abusing her and her children.

Records show Willis, 51, lives with Porter at her home on the grounds of the University of California Irvine site.

According to his official website, Willis has been working on Wall Street and in the financial world since 1997. On that page, he describes himself as the director of marketing for a company called Derivative Path, a financial consulting firm.

In addition, Willis is a financial journalist and has had his work published by USA Today and Yahoo! Finance.

At the time of his arrest, NBC San Diego listed Willis as living La Jolla, just outside of San Diego, about 70 miles south of UC Irvine. Records indicate that Willis had an address in La Jolla before attending the University of California Irvine.

The station described Willis’ time in custody as “short.”

Later, Porter texted the mayor of Irvine to say, “I will never trust them again” and “your police force is a disgrace,” reports Fox news.

Online records show that Willis hails from Philadelphia and is a graduate of Tufts University, who now resides in Southern California.

Commenting on the Fox News story, Jordan Wong, Porter’s spokesperson, told Fox News that the Democratic representative was “outraged at a planned family-friendly town hall being hijacked by extremists, leaving voters feeling unsafe, including hate speech.” make statements to children.’

He added, “Since then, Representative Porter and our office have worked productively with the Irvine Police Department, including the congressman who hosted the new police chief in her office for a constructive and cooperative meeting.”

In July 2021, Porter’s office released a statement regarding the incident, saying: “It is disappointing that a small but vociferous group of attendees, advertising a ‘confrontation meeting’, created unsafe conditions at a planned family-friendly event.”

It went on, “While I absolutely respect their right to disagree, their disturbance respected all families who attended and were willing to participate in a thoughtful, polite and safe manner.”

The statement concluded: “My team and I are evaluating the next steps, but my promise to Orange County families is that I will continue to hold town halls and engage with them.”

The Los Angeles Times reported that during the event, Porter was harassed by Trump supporters with chants like “Carpetbagger Katie!” and “Corrupt Katie Porter.”

While the Orange County registry reports that the protesters were organized by “American Nationalist” and die-hard Donald Trump supporter, Nick Taurus.

The registry said Taurus’ personal insults to Porter brought her supporters into battle.

When the protest turned physical, the Times says, “Porter rushed into the scuffle and wrapped her arms around an elderly woman at the scrum.”

Sergeant Karie Davies of the Irvine Police Department told the Times that officers had reported assaulting and assaulting a Trump supporter, but the injuries “sounded minor,” Davis said.

A Porter supporter, Kathleen Ripley, said of the event: “It’s disturbing. But there’s no point in talking to them. They literally had a chance to ask questions, just like all of us… but instead they decided to be disrespectful and yell out at the Congresswoman and everyone else here.”

Porter’s home has come under scrutiny because the purchase of the home is being subsidized by UC Irvine, as the congresswoman was a teacher in the school’s law school prior to her election in 2018.

Porter has been on unpaid leave from UC Irvine since her election.

Porter’s four-bedroom, three-bathroom home was purchased in 2011 for $523,000, a below-market price obtained through a program the university uses to attract academics who otherwise couldn’t afford to live in the affluent area. to live.

The only eligibility requirement was that she continued to work for the school.

But the ties run deeper, with at least one law school administrator, who was also a donor to her campaign, helping secure extensions to her term while she remained in Congress, according to university emails obtained by The Associated. press.

That has enabled Porter, a rising Democratic star and fundraising powerhouse whose net worth is estimated at a staggering $2 million, to keep her home even if her return to school remains in doubt.