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MMA champion Jeff Monson arrested in North Carolina

By Jeremy Pawloski | The Olympian • Published January 19, 2009

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Trapani said her romantic relationship with Monson is over. "I'm done," she said.

It was unclear Monday how Monson's new criminal charge will affect his ability to surrender to authorities in Washington.

Monson, an Olympia native and Timberline High School graduate who was on the wrestling team at Oregon State University, left a job as a mental-health counselor to pursue mixed-martial arts fighting.

In December, 2004, he won the Cagewarriors Fighting Championship heavyweight title in Sheffield, England by defeating Tengiz Tedoradze with a submission hold in the first found. On Dec. 13, 2008, he won a match against Rocco Rodriguez in the Mixed Fighting Alliance, “There Will Be Blood” event in Miami. Monson's fighting nickname is "The Snowman."

Last week, Monson took responsibility for leaving graffiti at the State Capitol in Olympia on Nov. 26 to protest the Iraq War and economic injustice. Thurston County prosecutors charged Monson with first-degree malicious mischief for the graffiti after ESPN The Magazine published photos of Monson spraying graffiti on the Capitol on that date.

After learning of the arrest warrant last week, Monson said in a phone interview that, "Every great movement in the United States, from civil rights, women's rights, the labor movement, has been the result of people standing up and breaking the law, refusing to stand at the back of the bus, refusing to stand aside when the government asks you to get off their property. And now, these people are seen as pioneers. But at the time, they were criminals, literally criminals. I’m not here to advocate myself; at some point you have to stand up."

Jeremy Pawloski covers public safety for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5465 or jpawloski@theolympian.com.