Just a day after his fellow Democrats sought to create a special committee to oust “members unfit to serve” from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Philadelphia Rep. Kevin Boyle exchanged text messages with a local TV news reporter.
Boyle has been missing, and a warrant for his arrest was issued a week before the April 23 primary.
Then, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner rescinded the warrant the day before the primary, saying there was a mistake. Boyle had not violated a protection from abuse order after all since no PFA was in place.
Thursday, Boyle, 44, whose location remains a mystery, exchanged text messages with ABC27 reporter Dennis Owens.
“The 2024 Democratic primary in the 172nd was despicable on the part of law enforcement,” Boyle told Owens. He lost the primary to Sean Dougherty, a lawyer and the son of state Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty and the nephew of embattled labor leader Johnny “Doc” Dougherty. Just before the primary, Dougherty’s campaign ran repeated television commercials bashing Boyle for the alleged PFA violation.
The state Democratic Committee backed Dougherty against Boyle, who was seeking his eighth term in the House.
Boyle gave Owens records of an expungement of his previous conviction.
“I wouldn’t have lost if rules had been followed and law enforcement had not played politics with a phony investigation about a nonexistent PFA which had already been expunged from my record,” Boyle texted.
And Boyle seemed bitter in this text: “America is not a banana republic. Elections and politics can never be the deciding factor behind why “investigations” are started by law enforcement. It’s despicable that any law enforcement official would spread a rumor about me being ‘investigated’ or about to be ‘arrested’ to advance a political goal.”
On Monday, House GOP leaders held a press conference, saying they had sent a letter to Attorney General Michelle Henry and asked her to investigate Krasner’s handling of the Boyle arrest warrant. Previously, the House voted to impeach Krasner, but Krasner appealed to the Commonwealth Court, which dismissed some of the charges. The House impeachment managers then appealed to the state Supreme Court, which has not ruled.
Republican Leader Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) declined to comment on the new development in the Kevin Boyle saga Thursday evening. Democratic Leader Matt Bradford (D-Norristown) did not respond to a request for comment.
Boyle, whose brother, U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, represents northeast Philadelphia in Congress, has spoken about Kevin Boyle’s mental health issues in the past. In February, Kevin Boyle caused a fracas at a bar in Rockledge. No charges were filed.
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