Allegations of white nationalist Richard Spencer physically and emotionally abusing his wife Nina Kroupiianova since their marriage in 2010 recently came to light in a disturbing Buzzfeed report.
In June, Nina Kroupiianova filed for divorce from the president of the National Policy Institute – a white supremacist think tank based in Alexandria, Virginia, that the Southern Poverty Law Center designates as a hate group.
The Flathead County District Court in Montana court filings details the horrific abuse she endured for eight years of their marriage, including while she was pregnant.
In one of Kroupilanova's most disturbing allegations, she claimed that her ex-husband "attacked me when I was four months pregnant with our first child, where he held me down with his body weight and held me by my neck and lower jaw, causing bruising."
The couple has been living separately in Whitefish, Montana, since July 1, 2017, and Spencer noted in a Washington Post profile the two were separated since November 22, 2016.
Even though they lived apart for over a year, the abuse would continue. Spencer physically assaulted Kroupilanova again in 2017 while she was expecting their second child.
She claimed that Spencer "entered my residence to visit our daughter, became irate, and attempted to punch me in the face."
In the court documents, her lawyers said she avoided reporting many of the instances of abuse and refrained from seeking protection for fear of "further reprisal by" Spencer.
The documents also stated that due to Spencer's "controversial public life," he resorted to possessing a loaded weapon in their bedroom that was "accessible by children," following the incident in which he was punched in the face during an ABC interview over Donald Trump's inauguration weekend.
The filings also mentions Spencer's increasing drinking problem. Kroupilanova said that his alcohol consumption contributes "to his aggressive and erratic behavior and reduces his impulse control," which Spencer denied.
The Russian-born mother of two quoted some of the most appalling comments Spencer told her, including: "The only language women understand is violence" and "I'm famous, and you are not! I'm important, and you are not!"
In Spencer's own 48-page affidavit, he denied that any of the allegations of abuse had anything to do with their children.
Despite court filings claiming Spencer's abusive behavior of having an adverse impact on their children, he accused Kroupilanova of "obviously and litigiously, tries to rope the children into our dispute by saying they were in the room next door or they overheard abusive talk."
Buzzfeed adds another horrific example of the physical violence Kroupilanova endured, according to their report:
In January 2011, about five months after their civil wedding ceremony and three weeks before their church wedding ceremony, Koupriianova said that Spencer dragged her down the stairs by her "legs, arms and hair" and threw her on a couch, resulting in bruises.
"I was very sick with the stomach flu, could not keep food or water down, and wanted to stay in bed recovering. Mr. Spencer wanted to watch a movie downstairs and did not take 'no' for an answer," she wrote. "He dragged me out of bed by my arms, legs, and hair, dragged me down the stairs, and threw me onto the couch. At that point he calmed down and turned on his movie. The incident resulted in bruises."
Given Spencer's association with the NPI, people are hardly surprised at his behavior at home.
Spencer believes he was the first to coin the term "alt-right" and attended many white nationalist rallies to promote his supremacist agenda.
One such event included the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017, during which 32-year-old Heather Hyer was killed by a car plowing into a crowd of protestors.
H/T - Buzzfeed, Twitter, WashingtonPost, Jezebel
