Left-wing think tank president resigns following domestic assault charges

Jerry Taylor, the co-founder and president of the Washington DC based think tank the Niskanen Center, was recently revealed to have resigned from his post following being charged with domestic assault.

According to court documents obtained by Politico, "Taylor was arrested in early June on a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery of a family member in Arlington, Va."

That night, Taylor had reportedly been up late following the celebration of his son's high school graduation.

"When his wife saw him drinking and using his iPad, she urged him to go to bed and threw his iPad in the trash, according to what she told a police officer who responded to the scene and wrote handwritten notes for a criminal complaint," wrote Politico.

Taylor allegedly pushed his wife to the kitchen floor, slapped her, hand placed his hands around her neck. After she told Taylor that he wouldn’t do that, Taylor allegedly pushed her out of the house and down their front steps, resulting in minor injuries, according to the complaint.

The officer, who responded to the residence at around 1 am, "said in her police report that she observed 'fresh scrape marks on her left leg and left ankle' of Taylor's wife and that the woman also complained about pain from her right shoulder and her back. He had no visible injuries," according to Politico.

Taylor reportedly told the officer that his wide had thrown his iPad down their front steps, resulting in a smashed device, then turned around and pushed him. He allegedly pushed her back, but denied slapping her or placing his hands around her neck.

The complaint said that Taylor accused his wife of being emotionally and psychologically abusive towards him.
Taylor was reportedly arrested that night and held in custody for around a day and half.

On July 20, the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in Arlington found "that the facts were sufficient in the case to sustain a conviction but deferred a finding on the case until next July as long as Taylor exhibits good behavior, completes an 'abuser's intervention program,' undergoes a substance abuse evaluation, follows all treatment recommendations and abides by a protective order requiring him to forgo any contact with the complainant and her daughter," Politico wrote.

Taylor is reportedly appealing the protective order.

Two weeks after the alleged assault, Taylor's wife filed for a divorce, citing claims that she had been abused by Taylor.

Taylor reportedly said in his divorce response that she had started the fight and attempted to force him to leave the house.

He acknowledged that he "very lightly smacked her" and claimed that "such a theatrical gesture would get her attention and wake her up to what she was doing."

Taylor's wife accused him of being an alcoholic "cannot stop once he starts."

"He has totaled a car under [the] influence, broke his foot under [the] influence, yelled, made crazy comments and has used abusive language. His drinking got worse over time, with extremely drunken episodes occurring more than once in a week," she wrote, adding that he drinks almost five days a week and has called her expletive-laden names.

"The alcohol makes him a person who is aggressive, self-centered and abusive," she said in the statement filed to the court.

"My wife's allegations about the events that evening are not grounded in reality. Those events for the most part did not occur and I'm confident that the charges will ultimately be dismissed," Taylor said in a statement. "I sincerely wish my wife the best as she wrestles with the issues she's dealing with."

The board at the Niskanen Center was reportedly made aware of the situation in early September. They immediately placed Taylor on administrative leave, but he submitted his resignation on September 6, a person close to Niskanen told Politico.

Back in June, Taylor was revealed to have a penchant for violence after now deleted tweets showed Taylor advocating for violence against the St, Louis couple depicted in a viral video defending their home from protestors while armed.

The now deleted tweets, obtained by the Federalist, show Taylor claiming "If I were in that march, and these racist lunatics were waiving guns at me, I'd like to think I'd rush them and beat their brains in. And I wouldn't apologize for it for one goddam second."

In another set of tweets, Taylor wrote "Yeah, excuse me if I root for Antifa to punch these idiots out. Guilty as charged. I know who's side I'm on."

"In the world of 'fascists' and 'anti-fascists,' I'm with the latter," Taylor continued in another tweet.