Philly DA withdraws warrant for state Rep. Kevin Boyle's arrest

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia District Attorney’s office withdrew the arrest warrant issued last week for State Rep. Kevin Boyle, after officials learned Monday that there is no active protection from abuse order that he could have violated.

Law enforcement officials on Monday did not have a clear explanation as to how a gaffe of this magnitude — walking back allegations against a sitting elected official the day before an election — could happen. Boyle is seeking an eighth term to represent parts of Northeast Philadelphia in a contested primary against fellow Democrat Sean Dougherty.

The matter is now under internal investigation, said Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel. District Attorney Larry Krasner said that he believed investigators acted in good faith, and did not know the PFA was no longer active until Monday morning.

”As best we can tell, nobody lied. There is simply a gap in the information,” Krasner said.

Boyle’s family said last week that the 44-year-old state representative has been struggling with a “serious mental health condition,” and family members have been desperate to get him into treatment, which he has refused.

Law enforcement officials sought to charge Boyle with violating a PFA by communication last week after investigators reviewed a copy of what they believed was an active PFA, issued in January 2022 between Boyle and his ex-wife.

Boyle had texted his ex-wife, Caitlyn Boyle, on April 12, demanding to see their children, according to Diana Schimmel, her attorney.

After Boyle was told that he could not see the children, he threatened to go to Schimmel’s home, Schimmel said. Boyle did not make threats of physical violence, but the remark was part of “a history and pattern of sustained mental illness,” Schimmel said in an interview Friday.

Schimmel said she believed the PFA between Boyle and his ex-wife was valid until January 2025. She and her client provided a Philadelphia police detective with a copy, who presented it to the District Attorney’s Office to approve the charges.

But the PFA was no longer active.

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