Former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin must serve full 60 days in jail, judge rules

Piper Hansen, Lexington Herald-Leader on Sep 4, 2026

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin will serve 60 days in jail for contempt of court, a Louisville judge ordered Sept. 4 in Jefferson Family Court.

Judge Angela Johnson said she may revisit the case in 30 days, and the sentence is appealable, but said she cannot allow the former governor to “taint the integrity” of the court.

“He has over and over again demonstrated a complete disregard and utter disrespect for this court,” Johnson said. “You are not entitled to a reduction. You’ve not earned it. You didn’t even try to turn in the remaining documents before the hearing date, you didn’t turn yourself in.

“You have done nothing to show the court that you are willing to act in good faith, and I cannot reward that with a reduced sentence.”

Bevin, who appeared in court Friday in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs, laughed with his lawyers before Johnson entered the room for the arraignment. Bevin was arrested the evening before after he repeatedly did not disclose financial documents or appear in court for proceedings in a dispute over child support.

During the roughly 20-minute hearing, Bevin sat quietly while his ex-wife, Glenna, sat emotional behind him in the gallery and their son, Jonah, joined remotely.

Bevin’s attorney, Scott Cox, made an argument the former governor should be held in criminal instead of civil contempt since the child support case at issue is nearing a final resolution.

Civil contempt forces a person to comply with a court order. In Bevin’s case, the order was to appear in court or face a 60-day jail sentence. Criminal contempt of court raises the standard of proof and reclassifying guarantees more formal court procedures.

Cox said during the hearing the arrest and Bevin’s night in jail was the court getting his attention, but that he should be allowed to serve home detention without a trial. The judge disagreed.

“I’m sure there was conduct in this case that the court didn’t appreciate, and I understand that,” Cox said. “And I can tell you, getting arrested and sitting over in the Jefferson County jail — which is a nightmare for someone like him because he’s a target of abuse ... You should dismiss the civil contempt order because he no longer can be in civil contempt because there’s nothing he can do to change that.”

Cox and the rest of Bevin’s legal team declined to comment following the hearing.

Jonah’s attorney, John Helmers, said the former governor had repeatedly ignored the court’s previous orders and scoffed at the idea of home incarceration.

“We’re asking the court to enforce its own orders to let Mr. Bevin and other citizens know that family court orders are real orders, and everyone can expect to play by the same rules,” Helmers said.

Following the hearing, one of Jonah’s other attorneys, Melina Hettiaratchi, said “it’s the outcome that was ordered.”

She said she and Jonah had been on the phone for “a good bit” Friday.

“There is some validation to see somebody had to follow the rules,” Hettiaratchi said. “... But at the same time, ... to have a parent choose to go to jail over support for you is horrific.”

Bevin was arrested Sept. 3 by the Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office from a movie set in Paris, according to the sheriff’s office.

At around 5:30 p.m., Paris-Bourbon County dispatch received a call from someone reporting Bevin’s location at the movie scene, where he was participating as an extra.

Sheriff’s deputies contacted Bevin at the scene in Paris and took him into custody shortly afterward, according to Bourbon County Sheriff Tony Asbury. He was taken to the Bourbon-Nicholas County Jail before being transferred to Louisville Metro Corrections.

The sheriff’s office confirmed the former Kentucky governor had an active arrest warrant related to an ongoing divorce and child support case. Johnson issued the warrant June 5 after Bevin repeatedly failed to disclose financial records in the case. He was also ordered to attend court hearings in person, which he did not do on multiple occasions.

The case has been ongoing within the Bevin family for more than a year, after Jonah filed for retroactive child support from his parents, saying they were no longer financially supporting him. Throughout the court hearings, Jonah Bevin outlined his time in residential facilities as a minor, and said his parents abandoned him at an abusive youth facility in Jamaica when he was 16.

The documents requested in the case were standard for determining child support, though Bevin told Johnson he needed additional time to produce the records because he did not have traditional streams of income.

Bevin, a Republican, was governor of Kentucky from 2015 to 2019 and lost reelection to now Gov. Andy Beshear.

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