Does Raphael Warnock Have a Criminal Record? Arrests, Accusations Detailed

As the November midterms approach, Senator Raphael Warnock's personal life has come under scrutiny as the Georgia Democrat looks to fend off a challenge from Republican challenger Herschel Walker.

Allegations that Warnock ran over his wife's foot with a car in 2020 have resurfaced recently, with Walker's campaign featuring the allegations in a recent ad featuring the Senator's ex-wife.

In September, Walker, who also faces accusations of domestic violence, released an ad entitled What Else Is Warnock Hiding?

The ad featured body cam footage of law enforcement speaking to Warnock's ex-wife Ouleye Ndoye following an alleged domestic incident between the pair in March 2020 at their Atlanta home.

Ndoye accused Warnock of deliberately running over her foot following an argument, an accusation he has denied.

"I've tried to keep the way that he acts under wraps for a long time, and today he crossed the line," Ndoye says in footage used in the ad.

Warnock was never charged in connection with the alleged incident. After an investigation, police found no evidence that Warnock ran over his then-estranged wife's foot with his car.

The footage used in Walker's ad first appeared in 2020 as Warnock was running for Senate against then-incumbent Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler, a race Warnock ultimately won in a January 2021 run-off.

Also in 2020, Loeffler asked Warnock about his 2002 arrest over allegedly obstructing a child abuse investigation during a live television debate.

Warnock was arrested in connection to allegations of child abuse at a church-run camp near Baltimore where Warnock was the church's pastor.

Warnock, along with a youth minister at Douglas Memorial Community Church, were detained in 2002 over allegations they interfered with a state trooper from interviewing teen counselors as she investigated an allegation of child abuse at the church's Camp Farthest Out in Eldersburg.

Warnock said that he was merely insisting that the camp counselors have a lawyer present while answering questions.

The charges against Warnock and Reverend Mark A. Wainwright, the church's youth minister, were eventually dropped.

Deputy State's Attorney Tracy Gilmore said that the arrest was down to "miscommunication" and that the pair "were very helpful" with the investigation, reported The Baltimore Sun.

However, the Republican National Committee still attempted to use the arrest to smear Warnock as recently as August 2022, describing in a blog post how the Democrat was arrested for "obstructing a police investigation into a child abuse case" without explaining the charges were dropped.

In their September ad, Walker's campaign also accused Warnock of "neglecting" the two children he shares with Ndoye by failing to pay child support.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Ndoye was seeking changes to the child custody agreement she and Warnock had previously agreed upon, giving her additional visitation so she can complete a Harvard University program.

Ndoye also requested that Warnock's child support payments be increased because of his "substantial" increase in income after being elected to the Senate. She also sought reimbursement for childcare expenses she incurred when Warnock's Senate duties interfered with times the children were due to be in Warnock's care, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in April.

"The fact that [Warnock] has failed to reimburse [Ndoye] has left [Ndoye] financially strapped, leaving the children in her care when she should be concentrating on work-related and school-related responsibilities," the filing said.

In April, Fulton County Superior Court judge Shermela J. Williams ordered Warnock to attend mediation over the dispute but did not grant Ndoye's request that he be held in contempt of court for failing to abide by the original custody agreement agreed upon in 2020.

The rest of the child custody proceedings are being kept under seal at Warnock's request.

Newsweek has reached out to Warnock for comment.