Wonderwall.com · September 8, 2026
Former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, has been arrested after months of defying court orders stemming from a bitter family court and child support dispute.
Former Kentucky governor arrested
Bevin, a Republican who served as Kentucky governor from 2015 to 2019, was taken into custody by the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office before being booked into Louisville Metro Corrections.
The arrest came three months after Jefferson County Family Court Judge Angela Johnson issued a bench warrant for Bevin after finding him in civil contempt for repeatedly failing to provide financial documents required in the case. The warrant ordered Bevin to serve 60 days in jail and pay a $500 fine.
Authorities caught up with Bevin in Paris, Kentucky, where he was working as an extra on the Christmas movie The Greatest Christmas Gift of All. The sheriff's office said it received a tip that Bevin was participating in the production and confirmed the outstanding warrant before taking him into custody.
Property owner Jessica Mohr described the unusual arrest.
"The sheriff showed up and was asking some people if they'd seen his picture, and a young man was like, 'I think that gentleman's inside,'" Mohr recalled. "And then there he was, and he was sitting there speaking to the lead male actor, and, yeah, he was arrested."
Child support dispute
The legal fight involves Bevin's ex-wife, Glenna, and their adopted son, Jonah. A court ordered both parents to provide extensive financial records, including tax returns and bank statements, as it determined child support and other financial obligations. While Glenna complied, Johnson ruled that Bevin repeatedly failed to provide required documentation.
Bevin also failed to appear in person for a July court hearing despite the active warrant and an order requiring the parties to attend. He had previously blamed another absence on a boulder crashing into his Maine vacation home.
Jonah, one of four children the Bevins adopted from Ethiopia in 2012, has alleged his parents abandoned him at age 17 at a Jamaican youth facility that was later closed amid abuse allegations. He subsequently sought financial assistance from his parents.
Following the arrest, Jonah said, "The sad reality is that adoption is supposed to be forever." He added that his parents' actions show they had not felt that kind of love for him "in a long time."
His attorneys said there is "no cause for celebration" over the arrest.