Aaron Coleman: Difference between revisions

Aaron Coleman (born September 9, 2000) is the Democratic Representative-elect of the Kansas House of Representatives representing the 37th district, which covers the Turner neighborhood and parts of the Argentine neighborhood of Kansas City, in Wyandotte County.^[1]

Coleman has received criticism because he has admitted to online bullying, blackmail and revenge porn in middle school, threatening to kill a girl in high school, beating and choking his girlfriend while running for Kansas legislature, and attempts by Kansas Democratic Party officials to have him removed as the District 37 Representative-elect.

In 2017, as a seventeen year old high school dropout, Coleman ran for Kansas Governor as a write-in independent candidate.^[2] In 2018, he ran for the Kansas City, Kansas Board of Public Utilities.

In 2020, he defeated seven-term Democratic incumbent Stan Frownfelter in the district's Democratic primary in an upset victory. Coleman, then 19, won by just 14 votes. He also won the general election, making him one of the youngest members of the Kansas state legislature.

He ran on a platform of supporting abortion up to the moment of birth, eliminating college tuition, defunding the police, medicare for all, legalizing cannabis, and supporting the Green New Deal.^[3][4]

After his primary victory, his past history generated significant controversy, leading to him admitting, that at the age of 12 years old, to an incident of revenge porn in middle school.^[5] He has admitted to bullying, extortion, and threats of physical violence also at his middle school.^[6] The Kansas City Star reported that in 2015, when Coleman was 14, he was arrested and charged for threatening to shoot a girl at another high school.^[6] Coleman pleaded guilty in the criminal case in which he threatened to go to the girl's high school, shoot her, and turn the gun on himself.^[7]

While running for state legislature in December 2019, at the age of 19, Coleman's girlfriend indicated that Coleman choked her, hit her, and told her to kill herself.^[8] The Topeka Capitol-Journal reported he texted her, saying, "I hope you get abducted raped chopped up and have ya pieces scattered and Burnt in different locations."^[9] Furthermore, Coleman texted her, "If you get pregnant, I will have to kill you and the baby."^[9]

Coleman apologized for his actions, blaming child abuse from his elementary school teachers. On June 17, 2020, Coleman said, on Facebook, that he spent “the vast majority” of his elementary school education “in a closet” instead of getting proper help at school. Coleman claims that he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder at 15.^[4] Turner USD #202 school district, where Coleman went to elementary school, stated that they do not “put kids in closets”, denying Coleman's allegation.^[4]

The Kansas City Star reported that in August 2020, during the campaign, Coleman said to former Republican state lawmaker John Whitmer that he would "laugh and giggle when you get COVID and die".^[4][10] Coleman claimed Whitmer was repeating anti-mask “conspiracy theories”.^[10] He said he would laugh because it like when someone talking on a cellphone while driving gets into an automobile accident.^[10]

On December 8, 2020, Kathleen Lynch, a Wyandotte County, Kansas judge, issued an anti-stalking order against Coleman after Brandie Armstrong, the campaign manager for Frownfelter, accused Coleman of sending her harassing messages, showing up at her home uninvited twice, and attempted to get her evicted.^[11][12]

On December 21, 2020, seven recently elected female Democratic state legislators signed a letter calling on Coleman to resign before he takes office on January 11, 2020. The seven women legislators included Jennifer Day, Mari Lynn Poskin, Stephanie Byers, Linda Featherston, Christina Haswood, Jo Ella Hoye, and Lindsay Vaughn.^[13]

Frownfelter announced he would run a write-in campaign in response to Coleman admitting to online bullying, blackmail and revenge porn.^[14][15] Coleman initially dropped out after being pressured to, but later reversed his decision, and got back in the race.^[16] Tom Sawyer, the Kansas House Minority Leader, supported Frownfelter's write-in campaign, as did Democratic Kansas Governor Laura Kelly.^[14] Another candidate, Kristina Smith, a paralegal and treasurer of the Wyandotte County Republican Party, also pursued a write-in campaign.^[17] The Kansas Young Democrats endorsed Frownfelter and condemned Coleman.^[18] Coleman defeated Frownfelter's and Smith's write-in campaigns in the general election on November 3, 2020.

On Twitter after the November 2020 election, Coleman stated Democratic Kansas Governor Laura Kelly would face an “extremely bloody” Democratic primary race in two years.^[19] Coleman has said that his tweet was not a call for physical violence against the Governor.^[20] Identifying as a democratic socialist, Coleman believes that Kelly's moderate political positions do not appeal to the Democratic left-wing.^[21] Lauren Fitzgerald, a spokeswoman for Kelly, has said that Coleman is not fit to sit in the legislature.^[4] Kansas Democratic leaders, including Tom Sawyer, have indicated that they will take steps to keep Coleman from getting seated in the legislature.^[20] Sawyer and state chair Vicki Hiatt said Democrats in the House will file a complaint against Coleman when he is sworn in and work for the two-thirds vote in the Kansas House required to remove Coleman.^[7] Jacques Barber, Wyandotte County Democratic Party chair, said that they should not try to remove him, but to give him guidance.^[4] Republican Kansas House Speaker Ron Ryckman, Jr. said to the Kansas City Star he would be "leery of an attempt to override the vote".^[22] Ryckman later added the House would be punishing Coleman for conduct before Coleman took office, overturning the decision of the voters.^[11]

Stephen Owens, state representative from Hesston, Kansas, pre-filed a bill for the 2021 legislative session. Owens' bill, HB 2001, would create the crime of sexual extortion and add it to the Kansas Offender Registration Act. During his announcement of the bill, Owens pointed to the various allegations against Coleman to provide support and reasoning for the bill.^[24]

Coleman lives in the Turner section of Kansas City, Kansas with his mother. Coleman works as a dishwasher.^[25] He attends Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas. He is Jewish.^[26]

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