Controversial former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin was arrested for contempt of court Thursday and ordered to be held in jail for 60 days stemming from an arrest warrant issued in June.

Bevin, a Republican who led the Bluegrass State from 2015-2019, had been wanted for months for failing to heed a judge’s order to release financial records related to his divorce and child support for one of his adopted children, according to the Lexington Herald Leader.

He looked disheveled and mournful in a mugshot after his arrest Thursday. He has been ordered to be held in the Louisville Metro jail for 60 days and must pay a $500 fine.

The ex-gov skipped multiple in-person court hearings — and Judge Angela Johnson would not let him join a Zoom hearing he attempted to join last month.

“Mr. Bevin made that decision not to be here, but you know, he’s going to pay for it in that he doesn’t get to go under oath and present his side of the story,” she said.

The ex-gov’s wife, Glenna Bevin, filed for divorce in May 2023, and submitted her financial documents in line with the court’s order. When her estranged husband failed to do the same, an arrest warrant was issued June 5.

Bevin was previously hit with a contempt charge in March after failing to turn over financial documents detailing his income, bank statements and tax returns.

He told Johnson at the time he needed more time to get the paperwork together because he didn’t have traditional documentation of income, the Herald Leader said.

After continued stalling, he was sentenced to 14 days in jail or a $250 fine, and appeared at a virtual hearing claiming he was unable to attend because a boulder had fallen on a home he owns in Maine.
He paid the fine and was ordered to turn over the requested documents by June 5.

Just before the deadline, his lawyer filed an emergency motion requesting he be given 10 additional days to gather the paperwork, but Johnson denied the motion and issued a warrant for his arrest.