Sheena Greitens received threats after Eric Greitens’ people-hunting ad, her lawyer says
The attorney for Sheena Greitens said during a court hearing Thursday her client received death threats this week after former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens released a campaign video that depicted him and a group of men in tactical gear hunting Republicans who he does not consider adequately conservative.
At the Boone County courthouse, Sheena Greitens’ attorney Helen Wade said she was disappointed that Eric Greitens was not present. She demanded that the U.S. Senate candidate and former governor make a statement denouncing any form of violence against his ex-wife. Since March, Eric Greitens has publicly accused his ex-wife of working with his political opponents.
“She’s scared,” Wade told Boone County Associate Circuit Judge Leslie Schneider. “This has not happened before. This video suggests the use of violence against all RINOs.”
Gary Stamper, an attorney for Eric Greitens, said Wade’s demand was unfair and disingenuous. “If they want to have a press conference, they can have one at the courthouse steps,” he said.
In the video released Monday, the former governor carried a gun and said he’s hunting RINOs, an acronym that means “Republicans in name only.” The video was widely condemned by competing Senate candidates of both parties, who painted it as a call for violence against Greitens’ political opponents.
Thursday’s hearing was related to Missouri’s former first couple’s ongoing custody dispute. Sheena Greitens, a professor at the University of Texas-Austin who was present at the hearing, is seeking to move the case to Texas, where she now lives. The case has received intense scrutiny since March after she filed an affidavit accusing her ex-husband of physical and emotional abuse against her and their children.
Eric Greitens, through Stamper, has painted the abuse allegations as a broader political conspiracy orchestrated by establishment Republicans. He has not filed any sworn statements in the case, but has campaigned off the allegations and used social media and emails to cast his ex-wife as a liar.
During Thursday’s hearing, Wade read aloud one of the threats — a tweet that indirectly called for someone to kill Eric Greitens’ family. Another threat was “so horrible I can’t read it out loud in court,” she said. The Star has reviewed the threat she was referring to — an email that graphically threatened Sheena Greitens with sexual violence.
“This isn’t a press conference and this isn’t theater,” Wade told Schneider. “This is serious.”
Schneider asked Stamper if he wanted to call Eric Greitens and have him denounce threats of violence against his ex-wife. Stamper said he was sure Eric Greitens would, but refused to call during the hearing.
After the hearing, Stamper released a statement denouncing the tweet and email. The statement said that Eric Greitens was “attending to the children this morning” during the hearing.
“We saw no evidence of any death threats,” the statement said. “Opposing counsel asked us to denounce the email and post. We do.”
Stamper’s statement once again denied the abuse allegations against Eric Greitens.
In status updates to Schneider, Wade and Stamper said they had reached agreement on the former couple’s visitation schedules with their two young children through the summer. The lawyers said they have also enlisted two guardians — one in Missouri and one in Texas — to oversee the Greitens’ two children’s interest during the court case.
Schneider made no decision on whether to move the case to Texas on Thursday. A court hearing is scheduled for July 15.
At the end of the hearing, Sheena Greitens and Wade were escorted out of the courthouse by officers with the Columbia Police Department.
This story was originally published June 23, 2022 at 12:28 PM.
