10.2 C
New York
Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Katie Porter granted temporary restraining order against an ex after ‘ongoing threats and harassment’ – Whittier Daily News

Katie Porter granted temporary restraining order against an ex after ‘ongoing threats and harassment’ – Whittier Daily News

Rep. Katie Porter was granted a temporary restraining order by a judge Tuesday after she alleged that her former partner engaged in “harassment and threats” that harmed her relationship with her family and her professional reputation.

The temporary domestic violence restraining order mandates that Julian Willis, Porter’s ex-boyfriend who she lived with “for brief periods of time,” according to filings with the Orange County Superior Court, stop contacting the congresswoman, her children and her current and former colleagues. The restraining order also mandates that Willis stay away from Porter.

A court hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 17 for a permanent restraining order.

Porter, 50, sought the restraining order after allegedly enduring “psychological abuse” as well as “three months of ongoing threats and harassment,” including a message on Saturday, Nov. 23 that “prompted that (Porter) consider suicide,” according to the declaration Porter filed with the court on Tuesday, Nov. 26.

“Julian’s struggles with mental health and substance abuse have created an unsafe and unpredictable situation for me, my children, my family and my work colleagues,” Porter said in her declaration.

Since Aug. 27, Willis, 55, has sent Porter more than 1,000 text messages and emails “with the clear intent to threaten and harass me,” Porter said in the filing. He continued to contact her despite her telling him to stop and blocking his texts, she said.

“He stated that his goal was to ‘force me into prolonged psychiatric treatment’ and that he intended not to stop, even if I had to be hospitalized as a suicide risk,” she said.

Willis, when reached by email Wednesday, said he could not comment at this time. He offered to provide one piece of documentation, but the Southern California News Group could not independently verify its validity on Wednesday.

Willis told Politico Tuesday that Porter only sought a restraining order to prevent him from suing her and talking to the media.

He sent 82 text messages during a 24-hour span in September, Porter said, and 55 on Nov. 12 before she blocked him from texting her. In her court filing, Porter included numerous screengrabs of text messages and emails that she said are from Willis to her, her children and colleagues.

Willis, who is listed as a New Jersey resident in court documents, also allegedly attempted to extort Porter and spread false information about her, including false diagnoses of a sexually transmitted disease, to her family, journalists, and current and former coworkers, the congresswoman said.

“Other threats have included statements that he will publicly humiliate me, ‘beat (me) down,’ bankrupt me, have harmful newspaper articles published about me, cause me to lose my job at UC Irvine, report me to Child Protective Services, remove my children from my custody and sue me for seven figures,” Porter alleged.

“Julian has made it clear that he intends to cause significant harm to my professional reputation,” Porter said in her declaration. “His false allegations and threats to my co-workers have harmed our ability to work by creating repeated interruptions that my co-workers and I have found disruptive, concerning and threatening.”

The restraining order covers Porter’s three children, who range in ages from 12 to 18 years old. Porter sought to add other adult family members to the restraining order, but the judge denied the request, saying adults not living in Porter’s home would need to request their own protective order.

The order says Willis must remain at least 100 yards away from Porter and her children, their schools, Porter’s home, job and vehicle.

It also says Willis cannot contact Porter’s current or former employees or co-workers to discuss Porter. Communication with government employees about other subjects, the judge said, is not prohibited by the temporary order.

It’s specifically a “domestic violence restraining order,” which helps people who have been abused or threatened with abuse.

“This is a very unfortunate situation,” Porter said in a statement. “Mr. Willis has suffered from well-documented mental health and substance abuse issues. As the records filed today show, those issues have gotten increasingly worse since I ended the relationship and asked him to leave my house.

“In recent weeks, his threats against my family and my colleagues have escalated in both their frequency and intensity, and I feel I must ask for this order from the court. I sincerely hope he can get the help he needs.”

Willis was involved in an altercation that occurred at Porter’s town hall event in Irvine in 2021. Far-right opponents disrupted the gathering, and a physical altercation broke out. Willis was cited and released for his actions during the altercation, and he was reportedly living at Porter’s Irvine home at the time.

Having served three terms in Congress, Porter is set to leave at the end of this term after mounting an unsuccessful U.S. Senate bid rather than run for re-election this year.

Still, her name ID is strong — she spent the days leading up to the general election campaigning for other House Democratic candidates — and she is rumored to be considering a bid for California’s governor in 2026. A recent survey conducted by researchers at USC, Cal State Long Beach and Cal Poly Pomona found that the Irvine Democrat was the favorite among 14% of respondents who were asked to pick between 13 people, declared and potential candidates for governor.

For now, Porter has said she plans to resume teaching at UC Irvine Law next year while she weighs other options.

If the judge does grant the permanent restraining order at the upcoming hearing, it can last up to five years, according to court filings.

Source link

Stay Connected

0FansLike
0FollowersFollow
0SubscribersSubscribe

Latest Articles