by Deborah Yetter, Kentucky Lantern
March 7, 2025
A judge has entered an emergency protective order against former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin sought by his adopted son, Jonah Bevin, now 18, directing him to have no contact with Jonah until the matter can be heard in court.
The order does not include Glenna Bevin, Jonah’s adoptive mother, but directs her to appear at the March 19 court hearing.
In a statement to the court, Jonah alleges his adoptive parents, Matt and Glenna Bevin, abandoned him in a brutally abusive facility in Jamaica last year and sought to send him to Ethiopia, his birthplace, last month after he went public with his allegations in an interview with the Kentucky Lantern.
“I now believe they were trying to get me to disappear,” Jonah’s statement said.
The Bevins, who are divorcing, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The order bans Matt Bevin from any contact or communication with Jonah pending the hearing and requires he remain at least 500 feet away from him. It also requires Bevin to temporarily surrender any firearms in his possession within 24 hours to the Jefferson County sheriff.
