LAKE CITY, FLORIDA — LAKE CITY, Fla. (AP) — A Florida judge has issued a protective order against Republican U.S. Rep. Corey Mills at the request of his ex-girlfriend. who claimed That he threatened to post nude photos of herself and physically harm her future boyfriends after she broke up with him.
Under the order issued Tuesday by Circuit Judge Fred Koberlin in Columbia County, Florida, Mills cannot have contact with his ex-girlfriend and may not come within 500 feet of her residence or workplace. Mills is also prohibited from tagging her on social media.
The order is in effect until the end of the year, and any violation could result in a fine or imprisonment.
The order was issued after an earlier hearing before a judge in Lake City, about 60 miles east of Jacksonville. After hearing the testimony, the judge said he concluded that the woman was either a victim of dating violence or had reason to believe she was at risk of becoming a victim of dating violence.
Mills has previously called the allegations “false” and said they misrepresent the nature of their interactions. His attorney, John Terhune, did not respond to an email inquiry on Wednesday, nor did his spokeswoman respond to an email seeking comment. In August, when the allegations first surfaced, Mills said she was pressured by a former political opponent
The 26-year-old woman told Columbia County Sheriff’s Office investigators that she began a romantic relationship with 45-year-old Mills in 2021, which ended in February. During their time together, she lived with him in a house in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, while the congressman traveled back and forth from Washington. At the time they met, Mills was still married but separated from his wife, telling her the divorce was finalized in 2024, she said.
The woman said she moved out of the New Smyrna Beach home earlier this year and moved to Columbia County afterward News reports About domestic disturbance allegations against Mills from another woman described as his girlfriend in Washington.
Mills was first elected to Congress in 2022, and his district extends from the Orlando area to the Daytona Beach area.