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Fact-checking Herschel Walker attack ad about Raphael Warnock domestic violence allegations

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., leaving the Senate chamber on May 11, 2022. (AP)

By Tom Kertscher September 8, 2022

If Your Time is short

Warnock’s ex-wife alleged that he ran over her foot, but police found no evidence of that.
His ex-wife alleged that Warnock often left the children in the care of others. Details of the custody case are filed under seal, so no details are publicly available.
A process server said Warnock drove away when he tried to serve Warnock with court papers.

Allegations of domestic violence on the part of the candidates continue to roil the toss-up U.S. Senate race in Georgia, which could determine which party controls the chamber.

We’ve fact-checked allegations against Republican Herschel Walker related to police reports and court records from 2001 to 2008.

Now, Walker is putting the spotlight on the Democratic nominee, Sen. Raphael Warnock.

In an ad, Walker claimed that Warnock "hit his wife with his car," was "accused of neglecting his small children" and "ran from the process server" who tried to serve him court papers.

The ad shows clips of Warnock’s ex-wife, Ouleye Ndoye, looking distressed and saying she’d tried to conceal his behavior from others.

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The ad doesn’t say so, but the clips are from 2020 body camera footage from a police officer who responded to Ndoye’s Atlanta home about an argument between her and Warnock.

This is what the ad, posted on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, tells Georgia voters:

Narrator: Raphael Warnock, we see him on TV, but what is he really hiding? Here's what his ex-wife had to say.

Ndoye: I've tried to keep the way that he acts under wraps for a long time.

Narrator: During their divorce two years ago, police were called when Warnock hit his wife with his car after an argument. Earlier this year, he was accused of neglecting his small children and failing to pay court-mandated child care costs, despite being worth more than $800,000 and making $174,000 a year from taxpayers. When officials tried to serve him papers, Warnock ran from the process server. Georgia voters are learning a lot about Senator Warnock, but take it from the people who know him best.

Ndoye: He’s a great actor.

Here’s what we know based on publicly available information.

‘Warnock hit his wife with his car after an argument’

Police found no evidence that Warnock ran over his then-estranged wife’s foot with his car.

The claim relates to a March 2, 2020, incident, in which Warnock called the police to Ndoye’s home shortly before 8:30 a.m.

Warnock told police that Ndoye accused him of running over her left foot with his 2014 Tesla while they were arguing in her driveway. Ndoye was reluctant to show her foot to an officer, who wrote in a report: "I did not see any signs that Ms. Ouleye’s foot was ran over." Medical personnel arrived, according to the police report, and were "not able to locate any swelling, redness, or bruising or broken bones on Ms. Ouleye’s left foot."

The Atlanta Police Department gave PolitiFact a copy of the police report.

To back up this claim, Walker’s campaign cited a Dec. 23, 2020, story from WABC radio in New York on Ndoye’s allegations. The police footage first aired on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News talk show on the previous day. Two months after the incident, Warnock and Ndoye divorced.

‘He was accused of neglecting his small children and failing to pay court-mandated child care costs’

This stems from an accusation made by Ndoye about how much time Warnock spent with the couple’s two children.

Walker’s campaign cited an April 2022 story in the Washington Free Beacon, a conservative political news website, about a February 2022 court filing by Ndoye over child custody issues.

Ndoye alleged that Warnock was not adhering to a "parenting time schedule," set in their divorce. She also alleged that Warnock did not reimburse her for child care expenses that she incurred when the children were supposed to be with Warnock but instead were left in the care of others.

On Aug. 19, a judge issued a temporary order on child custody and support, after the couple completed mediation. But that’s filed under seal, so no details are publicly available.

"Reverend Warnock is a devoted father who is proud to continue to parent his two children as he works for the people of Georgia," Warnock campaign spokesperson Meredith Brasher told PolitiFact.

‘When officials tried to serve him (court) papers, Warnock ran from the process server’

This is accurate, according to the person who tried to serve Warnock. Atlanta-area process server Frank Swindle said he was nevertheless able to serve the papers, which were part of the child custody court case.

Swindle told PolitiFact in a phone interview that he approached Warnock outside of Ndoye’s home and when he told Warnock he was there to serve him court papers, Warnock got in his car and began to drive away. Swindle said he was able to put the paper on the car’s windshield and saw it there as Warnock drove away.

"He drove away and he waved at me," Swindle said.

To back this claim, Walker’s campaign emailed PolitiFact a 34-second video recorded by someone who appears to be walking toward a parked car; the camera is pointed toward the ground and no people are visible.

Near the end, a voice says: "Hey, Rev, I’ve got some papers I need to serve you, sir; I’ve got some papers I need to serve you."

Walker’s campaign did not respond to PolitiFact’s questions about the video.

Swindle told PolitiFact he recorded his encounter with Warnock. He filed a court affidavit on March 11, 2022, attesting that he served Warnock with Odoye’s complaint on Feb. 26, 2022.