A former drug dealer who turned to politics as the poster child for a Democrat-backed law that allowed his criminal record to be wiped has been charged with beating and choking a woman and dragging her by the hair, court records show.
Leon El-Alamin, 44, who became a Democratic city councilman in Flint, Michigan, was arrested on July 10 on felony and misdemeanor charges for alleged domestic violence and assault, court documents filed by the Mount Morris Township police show.
The accuser said she locked herself in a bathroom to escape the violence and call 911, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said.
“She said that he had gotten angry with her because she was looking at her emails and that he punched her in the face, dragged her by her hair and choked her around the neck,” Leyton told WNEM.
“She had bruising on her face, which is consistent with being struck in the face. She had a mark on her neck, which is consistent with the allegation of being choked, and she claims she had been dragged out by her hair,” Leyton said.
“And I do believe they found some strands of hair on the floor on the ground, so that corroborated what she said.”
An unregistered gun was also found inside the house.
El-Alamin was first elected to the city council in November, and has been pictured with high-profile Dem leaders such as US Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).
He has also been pictured with Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — whose “clean slate” criminal justice program allowed him to wipe his own record.
El-Alamin was a cocaine dealer still known as Leon Wilson when he was sentenced to a least 12 years on drug and weapons charges in 2003, according to the bio on his website — which admits he was left in a coma over “a shootout over a drug turf war.”
He converted to Islam behind bars, changed his name, and founded the M.A.D.E. (Money, Attitude, Direction and Education) Institute — a nonprofit that aims to provide housing and other support to at-risk youth and ex-inmates.
In April 2021, he had his criminal record expunged under the new Clean Slate Act, which massively expanded the number of ex-cons in Michigan who were eligible to have their records cleared.
“I’m excited, I can’t really explain it. I’m overwhelmed with joy,” El-Alamin told Mid Michigan Now at the time.
He became an outspoken critic of the prison system, writing in a LinkedIn post last year, “Mass Incarceration is one of the greatest threats to our democracy in America.”
El-Alamin’s office and legal team did not give any comment following the news, but the councilman issued a statement on the Facebook page of the M.A.D.E. Institute.
“These recent allegations are both false and deeply disheartening, but I remain confident in the truth and in the legal process,” he wrote. “My legal team is actively handling the matter, and I fully intend to clear my name and win this case.”
El-Alamin’s bond was set at $7,500 on July 16. He appeared in court for a hearing last Thursday.
The governor’s office did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
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