Hennepin County Board candidate (R) says he learned from his felony convictions

Hennepin County Board candidate Brad Kohler, who is challenging Commissioner Kevin Anderson to represent District 7, hopes voters will look beyond his troubled legal history.

Kohler is best known for his career as a mixed martial arts fighter and is now a gym owner, restaurant manager and entrepreneur. He also has been convicted of several felonies, including malicious punishment of a child, third-degree assault and forgery.

Kohler said he learned from his mistakes and is a better person committed to helping others because of them. He added that he battled an addiction to prescription painkillers and his felony convictions happened more than a decade ago.

“A lot of people look at those things as a negative. But to me, it is one of the greatest things on my résumé,” Kohler said. “I’ve been through the system. I fought through it and I became a different person.”

More recently, Kohler was hit with a $10,000 fine by state regulators for promoting a “Gender Wars MMA” event without a license in 2018. Kohler said the event was a skit and a comedy that had “no real fighting” and was “all choreographed,” and the state had no reason to get involved.





https://www.startribune.com/hennepin-county-board-candidate-says-he-learned-from-his-felony-convictions/601155881