Grayson Kash Jackson, who was running for governor in Arkansas and who previously ran for governor in Illinois was arrested and extradited back to Illinois after making “threatening phone calls” concerning two judges.

Benjamin Winderweedle, now known as Kash Jackson was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. He served the country in the U.S. Navy with distinction for 20 years until he retired in 2016. He has three children: Kolby, Kaedon, and Kaelee. Kash has always supported local communities wherever he was stationed. He volunteered at local schools, church youth groups, Habitat for Humanity, and as a Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy in Lake County, Illinois.

After a messy divorce in Illinois, Kash moved to Arkansas where he recently ran for the governor’s seat until his arrest last October. Kash thought that he could change the way that courts work by running for governor. Back in Illinois, he founded Restoring Freedom and was a leading advocate for judicial and family court reform. Now, he faces charges in both the state that he moved to in hopes of making a better life, and the state that he left behind after a terrible divorce that led to his activism to change the way that custody courts work.

Officers in Logan County, Arkansas took Kash into custody on an arrest warrant stemming from calls that he made to the sheriff’s office on October 14, 2021, concerning two judges that are part of a custody case over his children in Illinois. Kash was hoping that the sheriff would investigate the judges. He was held in Lake County on six felony charges, two of which pertain to threatening a public official and four counts of intimidation, and then he was extradited back to Illinois in January 2022.

Court documents show that he and his ex-wife Julia Patton have not gotten along so well. She even accuses him of being abusive to her and their children though the papers say that Kash Jackson at times was allowed to see his children unsupervised. The documents also show that Kash had broken the rules by recording court proceedings and interactions and then posting the recordings on his Facebook page and that Kash and his lawyer had been admonished several times. The divorce document also says that Kash Jackson lacked credibility and that the court believed that Julia is afraid of Kash, and lines out child support payments.

DuPage County prosecutors are trying Kash’s case. At Kash Jackson’s first hearing on January 18, he pled not guilty over video teleconferencing software. The Lake County Public Defender’s Office was appointed to represent him although they had not had time to discuss his case with him. DuPage County Circuit Judge Mike Reidy is presiding over the case. After the judge heard Jackson’s case for a lower cash bond, prosecutors began outlining the charges. Jonah Meadows from MSN reported that “immediately before prosecutors were due to play an audio recording — Jackson withdrew his consent to proceed with a remote hearing in a move described as “gamesmanship” by DuPage County Assistant State’s Attorneys Steven Lupa and Mary Fleming”.

Jackson was back in court on January 20th, but his attorney was still not ready. Then, both the persecution and defense argued back and forth whether or not Kash has the right to demand that the hearing be held in person rather than over Zoom video-teleconferencing software. The judge ruled in favor of the prosecution’s request to hold a remote bond hearing over Jackson’s objection. After Kash withdrew his objection, prosecutors sought to increase his bond amount.

“[Jackson] remains incarcerated in the Lake County Jail on a cash bail amount far in excess of his ability to post,” defense attorneys argued.

“[The state’s attorney’s office] obtained new evidence since bond was set on the original arrest warrant,” they said. “This evidence includes a video statement wherein [Jackson] admits to making the phone call alleged in the indictment,” the prosecutors argued. “This information will establish that [Jackson] poses a significant danger to the community and is exceedingly likely to abscond from justice”.

Update from Kash on 11/5/2022 and how to contact him: Banishing Heroes https://mindinghearts.com/2022/11/05/banishing-heroes/

Minding Hearts is building advocacy and peer support groups in each state.  The groups are created to raise awareness, educate, and advocate for those that might not otherwise be heard. We are here for encouragement, education, and support. We are here to support families and develop resources that maintain family integrity. We look forward to your support.