Tag restraining orders petitioned by politicians

#MeToo Politician Sunny Reynolds’ Protective Order TOSSED

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“I actually thought he actually could have hit me.”

—Former Warrenton, Virginia Vice Mayor Sunny Reynolds

Translation: He didn’t actually hit her.

Question: Is the subjective impression that someone “could have” committed an act of violence a valid—or even rational—basis to seek the state’s protection after the moment has passed, and there was no violence?

Considering that statutes that authorize injunctive relief were enacted to check violence that actually occurred (or at least was actually threatened), the answer is a pretty resounding no.

Here, remarkably, is an instance of a judge actually agreeing.

A complaint of abuse by (now former) Warrenton, Virginia Vice Mayor Sunny Reynolds, one that has been criticized on this site, was this month thrown out by the court.

Context: Local real estate developer Keith MacDonald was alleged to have verbally accosted Ms. Reynolds in a restaurant in February, pointed his finger at her, and said, “I’m going to get you.” Then: “All it takes is 125 votes.” In other words, Mr. MacDonald allegedly threatened to run against her in an election that has since seen Ms. Reynolds unseated.

Judge Jeffrey Parker, as quoted in the Fauquier Times:

“I have little doubt the behavior was rude and impolite and made the petitioner uncomfortable,” Parker said. “This statue is not about rudeness or a lack of politeness” but, rather, calls for a level of force or threats that invoke “a reasonable apprehension” of death, sexual assault or bodily injury.

Ms. Reynolds, in contrast, reportedly testified she felt Mr. MacDonald’s spittle on her face.

Copyright © 2018 RestrainingOrderAbuse.com

*The cost to Virginia taxpayers for this self-indulgent public tantrum by a member of their government, which involved law enforcement officials, besides several courts, and surely ran to the thousands of dollars, was not reported by the Fauquier Times.

Constituent of #MeToo Politician Sunny Reynolds Describes a Phone Response by the “Victim” Mayor as Dripping with the “Vilest Truculence and Hostility”

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Previously remarked here, Virginia’s Fauquier Times reported last month that Warrenton Vice Mayor Sunny Reynolds was granted a restraining order against one her constituents, local real estate investor Keith Macdonald, for allegedly displaying aggression toward her in a restaurant during a verbal exchange lasting a few minutes. Ms. Reynolds testified she was “afraid” and complained to the press that she felt she was picked on because she was a girl.

This week, the same news outlet ran a letter to the editor by another of Ms. Reynold’s constituents, Robert Bowman, which contrasts with her self-representation to the police and the court as a fragile flower (emphasis added).

In the last city council election, I ignored friends’ advice and not only voted for Sunny Reynolds, but also allowed her to be the only candidate ever to place a campaign poster in my yard.

Since the election I have had three occasions to contact Reynolds.

On the first two incidents she did not call or respond in any way.

On a third issue I wish she had, yet again, ignored me. She responded to [it] by [phone] with the vilest truculence and hostility.

To say she was less than helpful would be a grave understatement.

Robert Bowman
Warrenton

Feminists are oblivious to the obvious, and no one else could fail to miss the implications, which spares this writer any obligation to comment further.

Copyright © 2018 RestrainingOrderAbuse.com

#MeToo Restraining Orders Petitioned by Politicians This Month

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Some recent posts on this blog concerned a frivolous restraining order granted to Warrenton, Virginia Vice Mayor Sunny Reynolds. Curious, I took a look to see whether this was a one-off among politicians.

It wasn’t.

This post looks at other restraining orders petitioned at the people’s expense by representatives of the people (all women)—reported in one month (March 2018). The majority seem to concern disruptions of public speeches. Of note, especially considering the plaintiffs are representatives of government, is that at least one of the orders is patently unconstitutional.

From the various news stories digested below, my favorite quotation was this: “It’s hard to keep track of who is driving this clown car.”

Republican Congresswoman Tarah Toohil was granted a three-year restraining order against fellow Republican state representative Nick Miccarelli, both of Pennsylvania, after alleging he abused and threatened to kill her during a relationship six years prior. Miccarelli, who was stripped of a badge that allows lawmakers to swipe into the Capitol complex and must enter with the general public through a metal detector, is being criminally investigated based on Toohil’s claims and those of another woman who prefers to remain anonymous.

Democratic Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham, a candidate for governor of New Mexico, was granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) against a former intern, Riley Del Rey, a transgender woman who alleges her termination was discrimination-based. Del Rey interrupted a Mar. 11 political speech, for which she was jailed, and was alleged to have “barged into a room” and “disrupted” a different event the month previous. A criminal investigation is pending in this case, which already required that Del Rey keep her distance from Lujan Grisham. The TRO was consequently tossed.

Cape Coral, Florida Mayor Marni Sawicki was granted a restraining order against her ex-husband, Ken Retzer. The only reported allegation was that he was “previously accused of attacking the one-term mayor last year during a conference in Miami.”

Florida Democratic Sen. Lauren Book was granted a permanent restraining order against Derek Logue for political speech (i.e., an unlawful prior restraint). Logue reportedly heckled Book at public events and published criticisms of her on Twitter and YouTube that included obscene words. (“Logue posted a video on Twitter entitled ‘You are a C**t,’” reports writer Peter Schorsch on the website Florida Politics, “that included lyrics saying he would ‘f**k up [Book’s] face.’” Schorsch also reports “[t]hat video was deemed a credible threat to Book’s safety by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.” The quoted lyrics are plainly those of Australian singer-songwriter Kat McSnatch, whose performance of the song is viewable here, and if Logue only linked to McSnatch’s video, the finding of “credible threat” by law enforcement, the court, and, most deplorably, Schorsch, is absurd.)

Copyright © 2018 RestrainingOrderAbuse.com

*In an instance of the people’s getting theirs back, the ex-husband of a woman said to have had an affair with Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, who was reportedly indicted in February on the charge of felony invasion of privacy for taking a nude photo of the woman without her permission in 2015, is seeking a restraining order against Greitens, a retired Navy SEAL, on the grounds he feels intimidated by him.