Lexington council candidate with history of harassment, other charges arrested again
A Lexington city council candidate with a criminal history of harassment and other charges was charged Saturday with assault.
Matt Miniard, 69, of Lexington, is running for a third time for a seat on the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council. He previously served on the Fayette County district conservation board, but he was removed in 2023 after failing to sign his oath of office and allegedly threatening a fellow public official.
On Saturday, Miniard was accused “holding a (man) down” inside a home on Burley Avenue in Lexington and attacking him with an “instrument,” causing multiple injuries to his head and face, according to a police citation. Additional details about the incident were not available in court documents Sunday morning.
Miniard was charged with second-degree assault, according to online court records. He remained in custody Sunday afternoon at the Fayette County Detention Center.
Miniard filed Dec. 30, 2025, to run for the 9th Council District seat, which includes neighborhoods near Reynolds Road in south Lexington, according to Fayette County Clerk’s office records. He’s running against incumbent Whitney Elliott Baxter, first elected to the seat in 2020. It’s Miniard’s third attempt at earning a council seat, after defeats for at-large seats in 2018 and 2022.
Before Miniard’s ouster from the conservation board, he was accused of harassing a fellow conservation board member, including threatening driving past the board member’s house and allegedly threatening to kill him, according to court documents.
He has also been accused of aggressive behavior toward tenants and former girlfriends. He spent time in jail in 2013 for failing to follow a protective order in 2013.
Miniard’s first court appearance is Monday. Miniard does not have a lawyer listed in online court records.
This story was originally published February 15, 2026 at 1:17 PM.
