Michigan judicial candidate is arrested after he is filmed allegedly WHIPPING his girlfriend
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A Michigan court candidate has been charged with domestic violence after he was caught on video hitting his girlfriend with a belt.
Jason Kolkema, 51, who recently won the primary for Muskegon County’s 14th judicial seat on the Circuit Court, claims he slammed his belt against a chair in front of his unnamed girlfriend.
The incident comes two days after he allegedly spat on the girlfriend’s 12-year-old daughter while she slept with her mother in his apartment, despite a court order banning him from being near the daughter, police said. Detroit Free Press.
Kolkema is said to have spit toothpaste on the mother-daughter duo before throwing water on them, because he was taking revenge on a previous argument.
The next day, the lawyer reportedly threw a Gatorade bottle at them, but it missed and hit a nearby lamp.
He was charged with domestic violence in the past, but that was dropped.
In May, the police called back from a friend who said Kolkema had beaten her. The friend then retracted her statement when police arrived.
Jason Kolkema, 51, was caught on video allegedly beating his girlfriend with his belt
He gets changed into a blue shirt before taking off his belt
Kolkema paces the room back and forth during the incident
The girlfriend said Kolkema tried to carry on a conversation while wearing headphones, which resulted in him allegedly smacking the chair in front of her. No injuries were seen on her
Police arrived at The Leonard’s apartments in Muskegon to find the ‘visibly upset’ girlfriend with a ‘blank stare’.
When asked by officials with whom she had a dispute, she replied, “Jason Kolkema,” but declined to provide details of the situation.
No injuries were seen in the woman wearing a long dress.
In correspondence between the Detroit Free Press and the friend, the friend said that Kolkema was trying to get her attention while wearing headphones and was “distracted.”
“It was rude of me to ignore him, so I take responsibility for that part,” she said.
‘He’s not dangerous. He never beat me. He’s not scary or threatening as a person… just boisterous, animated – almost jumpy at times. It just isn’t fair to him… it looks so much worse and different than it was.”
Pictured: The Leonard Apartments in Muskegon, Michigan, where Kolkema was seen on video
The lawyer had previously faced other charges and dropped the domestic violence charges as early as 2012
On New Year’s Day, the girlfriend’s 5-year-old son called his grandfather and said he was “hit in the eye with a doorknob by a friend of Mom’s.”
When questioned by Child Protective Services, Kolkema said that he “cannot remember” being in the house at that time, despite the girlfriend and son saying that they were.
The charges against Kolkema and the girlfriend were dropped after an Ottawa County prosecutor determined that “this is a strange set of facts.”
The grandfather supplemented the son’s call, adding that the couple is constantly arguing and yelling at each other.
“I’m trying to give my grandson a normal life,” he said. “I just want peace and normalcy for (him).”
Kolkema’s ex-wife reported domestic violence in 2013 because he had pushed her to the ground during an argument. No report was filed because Kolkema did not cooperate and there were no witnesses who ‘could substantiate the alleged abuse’.
In 2012, Kolkema admitted to pulling the ex-wife’s hair during another quarrel. He left the house before the police arrived, as Kolkema, according to the courts, represented authorities with a pro-arrest policy for domestic violence, and he wanted to avoid being arrested.
Later that year, CPS investigated Kolkema leaving his sick 6-year-old daughter at home while he drove his eldest son away for 20 minutes. The daughter was later found by a neighbor who was wandering around looking for her father.
Kolkema was not charged in that incident.
The accused judicial candidate won a primary for the Muskegon County Circuit Court in August
Two days before the incident, Kolkema is said to have spit on both the girlfriend and her daughter
One of the witnesses who saw Kolkema use his belt to hit his girlfriend said the lawyer “went on and on for most of the morning.”
He was seen arguing for 40 minutes as he walked around the room. The witness states that at one point she saw Kolkema grab the girlfriend, who then waved back.
“It was sick, it just gives you a stomachache, and that’s all you can think about for days and days and days,” she said.
‘The video is not as accurate as my eyes. You could clearly see that belt was connected to her.’
Kolkema was accused of assault a day after the video circulated on social media. He posted a $500 cash bond after turning himself in.
“Although the couple is arguing over the garden, it is not a relationship that can be characterized as abusive, and there is no evidence of previous abuses,” his lawyer said.
“Domestic violence includes violence that can be both physical and threatening. Contact is not required,” said Katie Norton, an assistant attorney general. “We are prepared to try this case if Mr. Kolkema wishes.”
A trial date has been set for November 21.