State Rep. John Thompson is disputing the authenticity of police reports that detail several abuse allegations against him, according to a statement issued by his lawyer on Sunday.
Top Democratic leaders — including Gov. Tim Walz — have called for the first-time lawmaker to step down but Thompson has said he will not resign.
Thompson "challenges the authenticity" of the five police reports and said that he and his wife, the only person he would have been with at the time, deny the allegations, said Thompson's attorney, Jordan Kushner.
The reports, Kushner said, were likely circulated to the press by a law enforcement group engaged in a "smear campaign" against the first-term lawmaker.
Fox 9 first reported the allegations on Friday night. On Sunday, Fox 9 reporter Tom Lyden released copies of the police reports, saying he started asking local police departments for reports when he was investigating where Thompson lived.
Lyden said he saw a pattern of domestic cases and wrote the story.
The five police reports from Superior, Wis., Eagan and St. Paul detail incidents from 2003 through 2011 in which Thompson allegedly hit or choked a woman or women. Several make reference to children being present.
According to the Wisconsin report, Thompson threatened and ran from officers and resisted arrest.
