Lauren Boebert Didn’t Punch Her Ex-Husband After All

Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Days after Lauren Boebert was accused of punching her ex-husband in the face at a restaurant in western Colorado, the representative has been cleared of wrongdoing after her ex, Jayson, recanted his story.

Now, Jayson Boebert is the one accused of violence. On Tuesday, he was arrested and charged with six counts, including prohibited use of weapons, third-degree assault, third-degree trespassing, and obstructing a peace officer, per county jail records obtained by the Daily Beast. It is not yet clear if the arrest was related to the incident on Saturday night or from another encounter.

Boebert gave her side of the story through an aide who spoke with the Daily Beast, saying the congresswoman went to her ex-husband’s house on Saturday, January 6, to pick up one of her sons for dinner. When Lauren was leaving, the aide claims that Jayson tried to hug her, then she pushed him away. The two agreed to meet up to talk about the matter at the Miner’s Claim in Silt, Colorado, where the aide claims Jayson was being “lewd” and “an asshole.” The aide said Jayson tried to “grab” Lauren and she pushed him back by putting “her hand in his face, put her hand on his nose.” Jayson said he stands by his claim in a call to the police that he was a “victim of domestic violence” and that Boebert punched him. Local police stated that “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.”

“This is a sad situation for all that keeps escalating and another reason I’m moving,” Boebert said in a statement. “I didn’t punch Jayson in the face and no one was arrested. I will be consulting with my lawyer about the false claims he made against me and evaluate all of my legal options.” (Boebert has switched districts for the 2024 race to a more solidly red district.)

This is not the first time the pair has made trouble in public. Less than four months ago, Boebert was kicked out of the Beetlejuice musical for getting handsy on a first date and vaping in front of a pregnant woman. And at a bowling alley together in January 2004, Jayson was arrested for allegedly exposing himself to two women; he eventually pleaded guilty to public indecency and lewd exposure. In her memoir, Lauren claimed that a 17-year-old bartender “wouldn’t stop” asking her beau to show her his private tattoo. The month after the bowling-alley incident, Jayson was arrested on a domestic-violence charge.

This piece was updated after Jayson Boebert recanted his story.