Ex-GOP governor arrested while acting in made-for-TV Christmas movie: report

A former Republican governor was arrested Thursday as he worked as an extra in a Christmas movie, according to multiple reports.

Matt Bevin, who served as Kentucky governor from 2015 to 2019, was taken into custody by Bourbon County sheriff's deputies on a contempt of court charge and booked into jail in Jefferson County, reported the Lexington Herald Leader.

The 59-year-old Bevin had been wanted for months after allegedly failing to disclose to a judge financial records related to his divorce and child support for Jonah Bevin, one of his adopted children, who claims the former governor and his ex-wife abandoned him in a Jamaica facility, reports show.

The couple adopted Jonah, who is now 19 years old, at age five from Ethiopia, and he was placed temporarily in custody of Jamaican child welfare, according to reports.

Judge Angela Johnson issued a warrant for Bevin's arrest in March, sentenced him to spend 60 days in the Louisville Metro jail and pay a $500 fine, and she imposed another 14-day jail term and $250 fine after he continued to ignore her orders, local reports show.

The warrant remained active until his arrest, which WDKY-TV reported took place at Houstondale Farm on Fords Mill Road, which is currently the set of a Christmas movie, a local Fox affiliate reported.

Jessica Mohr, the owner of the Houstondale, said Bevin was playing the role of a “featured extra” on camera.

“The sheriff showed up and was asking some people if they'd seen his picture, and a young man was like, ‘I think that gentleman's inside,’" Mohr told Louisville Public Media. “And then there he was, and he was sitting there speaking to the lead male actor, and yeah, he was arrested.”

That movie, "The Greatest Christmas Gift, stars Danica McKellar and Matthew Marsden and will premier Nov. 29 on Great American Pure Flix.

Witnesses say Bevin was not placed in handcuffs.