Police investigation finds Colorado US Rep. Lauren Boebert didn’t punch ex-husband as he claimed

By COLLEEN SLEVIN

DENVER (AP) — U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert was cleared on Wednesday of domestic violence allegations after her ex-husband recanted his claim that she punched him during an altercation in a restaurant where they’d gone to try to get on better terms, according to police and court documents.

Jayson Boebert was arrested Tuesday on misdemeanor charges stemming from Saturday’s incident in the rural Colorado town of Silt. He allegedly refused to cooperate with police after calling 911 to report domestic violence and then had to be forcibly removed, police said. He is also accused of getting into a physical fight with the couple’s 18-year-old son and taking out a rifle as the teen called authorities, according to an arrest affidavit.

The altercation came just over a week after Lauren Boebert, a Republican, announced she was switching congressional districts, avoiding a likely rematch against a Democrat who has far outraised her and after an embarrassing moment of groping and vaping that shook even loyal supporters. The Boeberts’ divorce was finalized in October.

Jayson Boebert did not respond to a request for comment. He previously told The Denver Post that he called police on Sunday morning to say he didn’t want to press charges in the incident at the Miner’s Claim restaurant.

“I don’t want nothing to happen,” Jayson Boebert said then. “Her and I were working through a difficult conversation.”

The restaurant did not have any surveillance video recording at the time, no witnesses came forward to provide a statement about what happened and no injuries were found on Jayson Boebert, police said.

“Due to a lack of any evidence, the allegations of domestic violence against Rep. Lauren Boebert are unfounded and the investigation into Rep. Lauren Boebert is closed,” police said.

Lauren Boebert told police she and her ex-husband went to the restaurant to finish a conversation they had started at their old home earlier that night as they tried to reconcile and get on good terms, according to Jayson Boebert’s arrest affidavit. But she said that things got heated after they started talking about their new partners and she placed a finger on Jayson Boebert’s nose to end the conversation, according to the document. Jayson Boebert, who police said was “highly intoxicated,” then called 911 to report domestic abuse and later claimed that he had been punched in the face, the document said.

Lauren Boebert said Jayson Boebert told her, “Congratulations, your name is going to be in the headline,” the affidavit said.

Lauren Boebert also told a police officer that she thought Jayson was hurt and thought that he was trying to make her suffer “like he is after the divorce,” it said.

In September, Boebert and a guest were kicked out of a musical performance of “Beetlejuice” in Denver after guests complained they were vaping, singing, using phones and causing a disturbance. She later apologized.

In her relatively short time in Washington, Boebert built a national profile and has aligned with the extreme right wing of the GOP. Her assertive style has grabbed headlines, most famously when she heckled President Joe Biden during his 2022 State of the Union address.