Rep. Jeff Dotseth, R-Kettle River, speaking on the House floor on May 2, 2024. YouTube screenshot.
Minnesota Rep. Jeff Dotseth, R-Kettle River, allegedly mused that he would own slaves if it were allowed today and called his then-stepson “Kunta Kinte,” after the enslaved African character in Roots, according to a 2008 affidavit from the stepson.
Dotseth also allegedly kicked and punched the family’s 14-year-old dog, according to an affidavit from his then-wife.
The new details came to light after the Star Tribune reported on parts of the affidavits about serial domestic violence that led to his 2008 arrest and a yearlong order prohibiting Dotseth from contacting his then-wife, Penny Dotseth, who now goes by Penny Kowal. He was also barred from using or possessing firearms and only granted supervised visits with their daughter.
She filed for divorce in 2007, and in a blistering sworn affidavit described years of physical abuse. Kowal’s son also filed an affidavit detailing abuse.
Following the Star Tribune story, Democratic leaders called on Dotseth to suspend his reelection campaign and asked that House Republicans expel him from their caucus.
Kowal and her son did not immediately respond to the Reformer’s messages seeking comment. Dotseth did not respond to a request for comment about the additional allegations in the affidavits.
Kowal’s 21-page affidavit, obtained by the Reformer, detailed years of domestic abuse including against their dog.
“This Christmas, our dog Misty, who is 14 years old, grabbed a small candy bar from one of Jeff’s bags he had sitting on the floor,” Kowal said in her 2008 affidavit. “Misty came into the kitchen, I looked at her and said, ‘What do you have in your mouth?’ Jeff was there and had seen she had a candy bar and punched her and was yelling at her to let go. He hit her again, (their daughter saw) this and was saying ‘Dad stop, she’s old.’ If the dogs are in his way, he’ll kick them to get out of his way.”
Kowal’s son in his sworn affidavit said that he and Dotseth would often get into fights about his views on slavery. Kowal’s son is not Dotseth’s biological son, according to the son’s affidavit. The Reformer is not naming him because when reached by the Star Tribune for comment, he said he feared for his safety.
“(Dotseth) would say things like, if slavery was still around today, he would have slaves,” the son said in his affidavit. “I hated this because it showed his lack of care for humans and their basic freedoms. I was often referred to as Kunta Kinte in a joking manner. I felt like it was always a little more than a joke.”
Kunta Kinte is a character in Roots who was kidnapped from Gambia and sold into slavery in the U.S.
Dotseth, in his sworn 2008 affidavit, denied the “unfounded” allegations of domestic abuse and said he agreed to the order of protection against him without making an admission to the abuse allegations. Dotseth said Kowal had become violent, alleging she had “spit in my face, thrown objects at me, frequently hit me and pulled my hair.”
Dotseth also said he was concerned about Kowal’s mental and physical health.
Dotseth told the Star Tribune in a statement that he now has “cordial relationship with my ex-wife, and have worked to put this difficult chapter of my life behind me.”
In her affidavit, Kowal said she and Dotseth would frequently discuss divorce, but these conversations would turn into arguments, she said. In one episode, Kowal said Dotseth put his fist in her face, told her he wished she was dead and said she was a “horrible wife.”
“Then he backed up, held his fingers in the form of a cross (and) proceeded to dramatically yell at me, ‘Get back Satan, get back, the devil is in you.’ I looked at him, shook my head, and laughed because what else do you do when someone does something so strange, comical, and disturbing at the same time,” Kowal said in the affidavit.
Dotseth at the time had “a lot of guns,” Kowal said. This concerned her, because the loaded guns were accessible to their young daughter, Kowal alleged.
“When we are up north, (Dotseth) keeps a loaded gun by the glass sliding door upstairs. Our beds are up there, and (our daughter) sleeps upstairs, but if you say something to him, he gets mad,” Kowal said. “(Our daughter) had said something about this also, his response (was) ‘don’t go by the guns.’ This is very dangerous, especially around kids … This is not what a nonviolent person does to his family.”
House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, has not said whether she will remove him from the House GOP caucus.
In a statement sent to the Reformer that was also provided to the Star Tribune, Demuth said that “domestic violence is an absolute red line for me — it’s never acceptable under any circumstances.”
But Demuth also said that the case “was resolved through the legal process more than 15 years ago, concluding with no charge or conviction for domestic assault. I spoke with Rep. Dotseth and he reiterated the contents of what was in his affidavit denying the allegations that were made during the divorce proceedings.”
He was initially charged with domestic assault, and later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct.