DES MOINES, Iowa – Admiral Mike Franken (USN, ret.), the Democratic nominee in Iowa’s U.S. Senate race, was accused of assault by his former campaign manager Kimberly Strope-Boggus in a Des Moines Police report obtained by Iowa Field Report, a Republican-run media outlet.
The report dated April 12, 2022, written by Officer Abby Giampolo, redacted the accused’s name, but the way the report is written points to the married 64-year-old candidate who is a father to two adult children.
The alleged encounter happened after drinks at the Dam Pub near Ace Hardware on Beaver Ave. in Des Moines.
The report reads in part:
“After being terminated (redacted) contacted Kimberly and asked her if she would meet with him. She agreed and they had a three way call with campaign manager, Maddy Leahy It was arranged for Kimberly and (redacted) to meet at the Dam Pub for drinks on 03/18/22 at 1900.
“Kimberly stated that she met with (redacted) at the bar. They spoke about his campaign, and told Kimberly that he was unhappy with his current campaign manager. He asked her to rejoin his campaign in a senior advisory role. Kimberly stated that (redacted) was scheduled to travel to D.C., and they agreed they would talk more about the position when he returned. (Redacted) then paid for the two drinks each they had consumed, and he and Kimberly left the bar.
“Kimberly stated that she had parked her vehicle across the street in the Ace Hardware parking lot, and (redacted) vehicle was parked on Beaver Avenue. As they were walking to their cars Kimberly stated they continued to talk about work topics. She stated (redacted) then grabbed the collar of the vest she was wearing and kissed her on her mouth. Kimberly pulled away from this, and she stated that (redacted) stopped the contact and walked away without saying anything further.”
Strope-Boggus, in the report, accused Franken of similar conduct with other women and said that the Franken campaign told her attorney that social media posts critical of the candidate for terminating her before the alleged conduct constituted a violation of her nondisclosure agreement made with the campaign.
After consulting with the Polk County Attorney’s Office, the Des Moines Police determined that no criminal conduct had occurred, and the case was closed as “unfounded.”
Franken denied the allegation during a town hall meeting on social security in Cedar Rapids on Monday.
“It never happened,” Franken said, according to Tom Barton with The Gazette.
Barton noted that Democratic congressional candidates, State Senator Liz Mathis, D-Hiawatha, and State Rep. Christina Bohannon, D-Iowa City, were “conspicuously absent” from the event citing scheduling conflicts.
U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, who is running for reelection against Mathis in the new Iowa 2nd Congressional District, called for Mathis to disavow Franken.
“Sexual assault is always unacceptable and the allegations against Admiral Mike Franken are deeply troubling. A ‘scheduling conflict’ is no substitute for denouncing sexual assault allegations and State Senator Liz Mathis must disavow Mike Franken immediately,” she said.
U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, who is running for reelection against Bohannan in the new Iowa 1st Congressional District, called the report “deeply troubling.”
“I find these allegations against Admiral Mike Franken deeply troubling,” she said. “We all know stories of women being assaulted, harassed, or otherwise disrespected in the workplace. As a female member of Congress and military veteran who has worked to support victims of sexual assault, enough is enough. We cannot have someone running for the highest federally elected position in Iowa, have a police report filed against him this year alleging that he both assaulted a campaign staffer and then tried to intimidate and silence her without any explanation.”
Read the police report below:
DMPDIowaFieldReport_Redacted
