Two weeks after winning the August primary, judicial candidate Jason Kolkema appeared to beat his girlfriend with a belt during an argument in his western Michigan apartment. He probably didn’t know that nearby witnesses were recording the scene.
Kolkema is being charged with domestic assault because his girlfriend says he hit her with a belt and it was caught on video.
Jason Kolkema, who just won the primary for the 14th Circuit Court seat in Muskegon County, says he was hitting his belt against a chair in front of his girlfriend, who has not been named.
The incident happened two days after he allegedly spat on his girlfriend’s 12-year-old daughter while she slept with her mother in his apartment, despite a court order that said he couldn’t be near the girl. The Detroit Free Press reported that the court order was broken by him.
Judge Candidate Jason Kolkema Wants No-Contact Order Lifted So Alleged Victim Can Campaign
Jason Kolkema, the candidate for Muskegon County judge, who is accused of beating his girlfriend with a belt has asked for the no-contact order to be lifted so that the alleged victim can campaign with him.
On September 26, a motion was filed on behalf of Jason Kolkema, 51, to lift the condition of his bond that says he can’t talk to the person he is accused of hurting.
Kolkema was charged with one count of domestic violence, which is a misdemeanor, in August. He is said to have hurt his girlfriend physically.
Witnesses were able to see the alleged beating through the window of Kolkema’s apartment on W. Western Avenue near First Street and record it.
Jason Kolkema went to the police and paid a $500 cash bond. Court documents say that he can’t have any direct or indirect contact with the alleged victim or her home. This is one of the conditions of the bond.
Kolkema said in the motion to lift the no-contact order that it was best for both sides for the order to be lifted.
According to court documents, Kolkema had never been arrested or charged with a crime before this one.
He had been dating the alleged victim since February 14. They had been close friends for three years before that. The motion said that their relationship “cannot be called abusive, and there is no evidence that abuse has happened in the past.”
The document also said that the two had been living together since June 1 and that Kolkema was the one who signed the lease.
Jason Kolkema Says He Was Striking A Chair With His Belt, Not His Girlfriend
The 51-year-old lawyer saw the people from his window and gave them the peace sign. He has since said that the video doesn’t show what it seems to be: His girlfriend and his lawyer have both said that he was hitting a chair with his belt, not her.
But the video led to criminal charges and a wave of anger in Muskegon, a city on the shore of Lake Michigan about 40 miles northwest of Grand Rapids.
In western Michigan, a scandalous judicial election has sparked a lot of talk about domestic violence. This is because women’s rights activists are fighting to keep Kolkema off the bench, saying he isn’t fit to be a judge, especially when it comes to cases involving abused women and children.
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Jason Kolkema’s Girlfriend Takes The Blame
When Kolkema’s lawyer, Terry Nolan, was asked for comments more than once, he threatened to report the Free Press to the police for harassment.
When asked if he could explain to voters what he did in the video, Kolkema said, “I’d refer you to what the alleged victim had to say.”
The victim says she stands by Kolkema and that she is partly to blame for what happened in the apartment that day while cellphone cameras were rolling.
The 33-year-old girlfriend told the Free Press, “Jason is a good person and has made my life better in many ways.” “He has done a lot for my kids, and I don’t think this is even close to a fair picture of him.”
Who Is Jason Kolkema’s Girlfriend?
So far, the identity of Judge Candidate Jason Kolkem’s girlfriend has not been revealed, and for good reason. The Free Press does not name people who have been or are said to have been victims of domestic violence without their permission.
This story is currently under development, we would update our readers as soon as further details emerge.