Michigan state Rep. Steve Marino (R) allegedly told Michigan state Rep. Mari Manoogian (D) via text that he would destroy her life and that he hoped her “car explodes.”
Earlier this month, the two Michigan lawmakers confirmed that they had once been in a romantic relationship, with Manoogian accusing Marino of domestic abuse. Marino was soon after stripped of all his committee assignments, and Michigan State Police have opened an investigation into the allegations.
As The Detroit News reported this week, text messages that were included in a filing from Manoogian to obtain a personal protection order (PPO) order showed Marino telling Manoogian that he hoped her “car explodes on the way in” as they discussed work on the House Commerce and Tourism Committee, on which they both served at the time.
“You’re truly the worst human being I’ve ever met. I mean that with the utmost sincerity. Just a parasite,” Marino wrote.
He also reportedly told her to “hide on the House floor” because he planned to “park right next to your desk and ream you a new asshole each session day until I leave that place.”
According to The Detroit News, it is unclear when these texts were written.
In her order, Manoogian wrote that “after trying to ignore Steve’s threats and harassment for 21 months, and begging him to stop texting me in this harassing manner countless times, I had no choice but to report his abuse to my Democratic Leader.”
“The way that Steve switches his hateful anger on and off towards me is unhealthy, it terrifies me, and it makes me believe he is suffering from a legitimate mental break of some type,” she added.
Last week, Manoogian’s lawyer Kelly McClintock confirmed that a PPO had been secured. This move will theoretically prevent Marino from being on the House floor at the same time as Manoogian, as he has been barred from being on the same property as her.
When confirming their relationship earlier this month, Marino said the allegations made against him were a “politically motivated character assassination” and a “a waste of the public’s time.”
“These statements are so out of context, and we’re simply going to move to set it aside,” Mike Rataj, a lawyer for Marino, said in a statement to The Detroit News.
“We’ll have a lot more to say once we get into court,” Rataj added.