Benjamin Thomas Wolf, an Illinois congressional candidate whose provocative campaign has captured national media attention, has smoked weed in front of an American flag, brandished an AR-15 in a campaign ad and is running ads on porn sites.
But his turn in the spotlight — the former FBI employee has been featured in write-ups in Newsweek and CNN and appeared in an interview on “Fox & Friends”— has unearthed a troubled past, including accusations of abusive behavior toward women and claims that he inflated his resume.
The allegations against Wolf, the so-called cannabis candidate who is running in a crowded Democratic primary against Chicago-based Rep. Mike Quigley, come amid a national moment of reckoning on sexual harassment and domestic abuse, and on the heels of a scandal involving Rob Porter, the former White House staff secretary accused of domestic violence by two ex-wives.
Katarina Coates, a former girlfriend who interned for his campaign, told POLITICO that Wolf was frequently physically and emotionally abusive, and “doxxed” her by revealing her name and home address on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
“He actually hit me, threw me to the ground, put his foot on my chest. He was really angry. He grabbed my face,” said Coates, who described at least six incidents of physical abuse. “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.’ ”
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