Lauren Boebert granted restraining order against ex-husband

Far-right congresswoman says her ex-husband made violent threats against her

The strange and sad story of Congresswoman Lauren Boebert’s ongoing divorce deepened last week as the Colorado Republican was granted a restraining order against her ex-husband.

A judge ruled in her favour on Friday after Ms Boebert accused her ex-husband of making threats against her and entering her family’s home without permission. Jayson Boebert denied making threats when contacted by The Associated Press and claimed that he had gone to his former wife’s residence to clean it up ahead of the arrival of Ms Boebert’s grandmother.

The estranged family had a troubled January. Ms Boebert, in her court filings ahead of last week’s ruling, cited two incidents which occurred last month involving Jayson Boebert; one involved a fight between the couple at a restaurant, where Mr Boebert falsely claimed to police (and later recanted) that she had struck him. Police were called to respond to that incident, leading to Jayson Boebert facing three criminal charges.

Mr Boebert was also accused in the court documents of getting in an argument with his 18-year-old son by Ms Boebert which led to Jayson allegedly storming out of his house with a rifle. That incident also led to three criminal charges being filed against the congresswoman’s ex-husband.

He did not address any of his alleged criminal conduct when contacted by reporters for the AP, saying only: “I would never harm Lauren, I just want to move on and be in peace.”

The upheaving of Ms Boebert’s family life comes at the worst possible time for the two-term House member. She’s facing what could potentially be her toughest political fight yet; a Republican primary in a deep-red district where she faces accusations of carpetbagging after fleeing her old seat and moving across the state rather than face a competitive general election challenge. Her own state party chairman denounced the move when it was announced in December, and Ms Boebert is relying on her name recognition and reputation as a far-right bombthrower on Capitol Hill to keep her political career alive.

Last year, voters in her old district indicated that they were growing weary of her constant warring with other Republicans and various perceived political enemies.

Her fate will be decided in June, when Colorado holds congressional primary elections. The winner of that race will likely go on to win in November, given her new district favourability for Republican candidates.