Florida Republican Alleges Fellow GOP Challenger Stalking Her, 'Intends to Kill Her'
A Florida Republican congressional candidate has accused another GOP candidate of stalking her and said he "intends to kill her," the Associated Press reported.
Anna Paulina Luna, who plans to run for Florida's District 13 House seat, filed for a permanent restraining order against William Braddock. Pinellas County Circuit Judge Doneene Loar had granted Luna a temporary restraining order for Luna and a conservative activist and friend, Erin Olszewski, once the allegations surfaced.
Braddock told the court Tuesday that he opposed the decree and wanted to "obtain, review and validate" any evidence against him. He had denied the allegations in the past and called them politically motivated.
"I don't know what they have," Braddock said in court.
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.
Loar agreed to delay the hearing until July 9 to allow both sides to exchange evidence. She said the temporary restraining orders against Braddock and Olszewski will remain in effect, and she cautioned him not to violate them.
In her petition, Luna claims she received text messages recently between Braddock and some associates in which he allegedly said he wanted to "take me (Luna) out." She also said others told her "that means he intends to kill me."
"I do not feel safe and I am currently in fear for my life from Mr. Braddock," Luna said in her petition.
The case took a darker and somewhat bizarre turn last week when Politico reported that Olszewski had secretly recorded a phone call with Braddock earlier this month in which he says the alleged "Russian and Ukrainian hit squad" could kill Luna within 24 hours.
"Luna's going to go down and I hope it's by herself," Braddock says in the recording, according to Politico, which said it had obtained the recording. "For the better or the good of the majority of the people, we've got to sacrifice the few."
According to the report, Braddock described the "hit squad" as being armed for "close-battle combat" to make sure nothing was left to chance.
"No snipers. Up close and personal. So they know the target has gone," Braddock said, according to the Politico report. The online news site quoted Braddock as saying he hadn't heard the recording and that there there was no proof it was him on it.
The recording was not mentioned in Luna's petition or in Tuesday's hearing, which was conducted by video conference. Politico said Olszewski turned the recording over to law enforcement officials, who declined to release any information to The Associated Press, citing an ongoing information. No criminal charges have been filed. Olszewski did not respond to phone calls and emails from the AP.
In 2020, Luna lost by about 24,600 votes to the far better-known Crist in the District 13 congressional race in Pinellas County. Crist, a former Republican Florida governor who has held several other high-profile offices, is running for governor in 2022 as a Democrat.
A slew of candidates are running for the district, which could be key to determining which party controls the U.S. House after next year's elections.
Among the other candidates in the race are Democratic state representatives Ben Diamond and Michele Rayner. More candidates are expected to join the campaign.
