Kim Davis must pay $222,000 in couples’ legal fees, says Kentucky governor who sought her support before election

In September of 2015, then-candidate for Kentucky governor Matt Bevin (photo, center) was only too happy to support Rowan County clerk Kim Davis, who claimed her personal religious beliefs prohibited her from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Bevin won his race in part because of his support for Davis, and changed state requirements so she would not have to sign marriage licenses.

But now that Davis lost her November re-election race, she's also lost the support of Governor Bevin. That loss may cost Davis about $222,000 in legal fees and court costs incurred by the couples who sued her for violating their civil rights.

Attorneys in Bevin's office say Davis should have to pay the couples' legal costs after losing in court. They cite her “conduct that violates civil rights,” according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. Bevin's attorneys also say Davis failed to do her job.

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear the case Thursday.

"Davis acted alone, without any state support, the governor’s lawyers told the 6th Circuit in briefs ahead of the oral arguments," the Herald-Leader reports.

One attorney from Bevin's office wrote in a court brief that Davis' "local policy stood in direct conflict with her statutory obligation to issue marriage licenses to qualified Kentucky couples. The local policy also undermined the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s interest in upholding the rule of law."

Governor Bevin came under fire this week, after criticizing cities across the nation that are closing schools due to sub-zero temperatures and wind chills. Weather forecaster Al Roker on Wednesday blasted the Kentucky governor as a "nitwit."

Last year Bevin also came under fire for falsely claiming during a teachers' strike that it’s “a fact” that “hundreds of thousands” of children were left home alone by single parents  unable to afford child care.

Also last year Bevin claimed the cause of America's gun violence and mass shooting pandemic is antidepressants.