An Illinois Democratic congressional candidate has been accused of abusing women and lying about his service in the U.S. military, according to a Wednesday report.
Benjamin Thomas Wolf, who has already had a controversial congressional bid, which has included smoking marijuana on camera and running advertisements on **** sites, has been accused of physically harming his ex-girlfriend and former campaign intern, Katarina Coates. She described six incidents where Wolf physically abused her, Politico reported.
“He actually hit me, threw me to the ground, put his foot on my chest. He was really angry. He grabbed my face,” Coates said. “I thought it was normal. I cannot explain the logic. It seemed like he cared about me when he did that. After that time he stood on my chest, he went and took me for chocolate cake. I kind of associated it with his caring. … There were times I would ask him, ‘Do you ever regret hitting me?’ He would say: ‘No, but I’m relieved when you put your head down so I don’t have to do it again.'”
Coates said she did not file a police report and instead had a police report filed against her by Wolf. She also said Wolf “doxxed” her by releasing her name, phone number and home address to the public.
Another former girlfriend of Wolff, Kari Fitzgerald, also made accusations against him, saying that a he showed “abusive, escalating behavior.”
As well as the alleged physical abuse of women, Wolf reportedly has never served in the military, which he has previously claimed when announcing his candidacy. The Democratic congressional candidate has described himself as an “Iraq veteran” and responded to a tweet on Veterans Day calling him out, saying he has “served multiple terms in Africa and Iraq. Wolf for Congress.”
Wolf has said that people are confused as to what he meant by saying he “served” in Iraq, claiming he served in the state department overseas.
“People in the military get upset when I say I served in Iraq. The military doesn’t have a patent on the word ‘served,'” he said.
In a press release, Wolf’s campaign also called him a “former FBI agent,” even though a spokesperson for the FBI told The Chicago Tribune he was “a non-special agent professional support employee,” not an agent.
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Wolf faces a large group of candidates in the Democratic primary for Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley’s seat.