Midwest mayor embroiled in explicit video tape scandal

A small town mayor has been accused of filming an explicit video of a woman and sharing it without her consent before texting local police to ‘correct’ their report – in a wild scandal he claims is inaccurate.

Luke Merrill, mayor of Isanti, Minnesota, was accused of filming a woman in 2020 without her permission and posting it online, according to a police report obtained by the Daily Mail. 

The woman, whose name was redacted in the police report, told the Isanti Police Department that Merrill recorded ‘her and other females only wearing their brᴀssieres and bottom pants on his Snapchat,’ on September 19 during a bonfire at his parents’ house, the report stated. 

She then told Merrill that he ‘better not be recording,’ to which he allegedly replied that he was only using the flashlight on his phone. 

The woman then alleged that she gave her friend and Merrill a ‘lap dance.’ She accused Gray of filming her as she took her brᴀssiere off.

‘In the video footage part of [redacted] breasts are showing, [redacted] stated she felt violated due to the fact she was intoxicated and never gave Luke consent to record her during those Sєxual acts,’ the police report stated. 

She said she had not reported it at the time because she was not in the right mindset, and later gained access to the video when she logged in to an old Facebook profile and found a friend had sent it to her via the Messenger app.  

Denea Donovan, a resident of Isanti, identified herself as the alleged victim in an interview with local ABC affiliate KSTP. 

Isanti Mayor Luke Merrill (right) allegedly texted the police chief asking if the report could be corrected due to ‘factual inaccuracies,’ a request that was denied. Merrill is pictured above at an event with a different officer 

Denea Donovan told KSTP that she filed the report against Merrill and wanted to believe ‘that the truth will prevail’ 

‘I want to believe wholeheartedly that the truth will prevail,’ she said.  

KSTP obtained the video, which reportedly appeared to show Merrill shirtless outside with other individuals, including one person with their hands above their head. 

The city attorney’s office did not file charges against Merrill because the statute of limitations has pᴀssed. 

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However, after the report was filed, Merrill allegedly texted Isanti Police Chief Travis Muyres to correct the record. 

Text messages obtained by KSTP revealed that Merrill allegedly messaged Muyres, writing: ‘Hey Travis, Is there anything I can do to correct the factual inaccuracy in that police report where it says her breasts were exposed? 

He added that he feared the report would be ‘weaponized’ against him and claimed it was not true.

Merrill also allegedly said that he did not know how to prove himself without posting the video again, which he acknowledged would put him in ‘a big pickle because she didn’t want me to post it originally,’ adding that he was ‘kinda screwed by the inaccurate word choice.’ 

Muyres then allegedly replied that the report stated that only ‘part’ of the woman’s breast was exposed and denied any factual inaccuracies. 

After Merrill was asked if he wanted to change the report, he declined and asked if he could add his own statement instead. 

‘In conjunction to Isanti Police Policy 337, the standard directive has been to maintain professional distance by having the Police Chief as the first line of contact for elected persons,’ Muyres said in a statement to the Daily Mail. 

The video allegedly a woman with partial clothes on, according to KSTP 

The video allegedly showed Merrill shirtless at a bonfire. He was accused of filming explicit images of a woman and posting them online 

Text messages obtained by KSTP allegedly showed Merrill asking to correct a ‘factual inaccuracy’ 

Merrill denied the accusations against him in a statement on social media, chalking up the video to being ‘Young, dumb & stupid at a bonfire.’

‘The bonfire happened in 2020. It was reported for political reasons almost 6 years later. There was no crime. The case was dropped,’ he said.

Merrill then accused Donovan of filing the report as a way to prevent him from getting re-elected. 

The mayor also accused a woman named Sheryl Davidson, who was cited in the police report for going with Donovan to give a statement, of orchestrating the ‘political hit piece.’ 

‘There was no actual nudity in the original video either; the worst of it was cleavage. You’d see more “nudity” going to a beach. The next morning I deleted the clip, after I was asked to. It was young, dumb and stupid on everyone’s part, and I will absolutely own that fact. But it is not what is being weaponized here against me,’ Merrill added. 

In a separate post about the allegations on his personal account, Merrill said his mayoral role was ‘essentially a volunteer position’ and attached his Venmo account.  

Merrill also defended his messages to Muyres, writing in a statement to KSTP: ‘It is city practice for city council members or mayor to reach out directly to department heads, or the city administrator, not the subordinate officer. Reaching out to subordinate city employees creates a workplace conflict.’ 

Merrill is accused of texting Isanti Police Chief Travis Muyres (left) to correct the report, which Isanti County Sheriff Wayne Seiberlich (right) said appeared ‘to be inappropriate and unethical’ 

Merrill has been accused of filming an explicit video of a woman without her consent and then texting local police to correct the report. He denies any wrongdoing 

Isanti County Sheriff Wayne Seiberlich told the Daily Mail in a statement that Merrill’s text messages to Muyres ‘appear to be inappropriate and unethical.’

Seiberlich, who noted his office did not investigate the initial claims, added that although unethical, he did not believe Merrill was in violation of the Minnesota Criminal Code. 

Merrill previously served as interim mayor until he won a special election last year. He is running to keep the position in November. 

According to his personal Facebook account, Merrill has been in a relationship since 2022.  

The Daily Mail has reached out to Merrill and Donovan for comment.