Sarah Palin Gets Restraining Order Against Alleged Stalker
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JUNEAU, Alaska — Sarah Palin has been granted a restraining order against a Pennsylvania man accused of stalking and threatening her.
Alaska Magistrate Judge Colleen Ray issued a 20-day protective order on Monday against 18-year-old Shawn R. Christy, after she found probable cause to believe he had stalked the former governor and vice presidential candidate.
Palin and her attorney claimed Christy made implied threats through phone and written messages, allegedly telling Palin to "watch her back," saying he was buying a one-way ticket to Alaska and sending a receipt for a gun purchase.
Palin testified by telephone that she feared for her life, and for her family's safety: "Bottom line is, he is crazy and could kill me," Palin said, according to the court transcript. "He wants me dead."
Palin also testified that he also believes he has some kind of relationship with her daughter, Willow, and has brought up the girl's name.
Christy was ordered to have no contact with Palin's family and to stay a mile away from her home and from a Wasilla area high school. A protective order also was issued for Palin's friend, Kristan Cole, who, according to the document, testified that Christy has been contacting her since 2009.
He had sent her a letter with the proof of a gun purchase, claimed to have had an affair with Palin and wrote, in letters of up to 10 pages long, that "he is trying to follow God but has evil in him, and that he is going to sell everything and come to Alaska with his shotgun," according to the court order.
Cole testified that Christy had called Monday, the day the orders were issued, and told her he had arrived in Alaska.
A message left for Christy at his home in McAdoo, Pa., wasn't immediately returned. Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein said Christy did not attend the hearing.
In an interview, Van Flein said Christy had "risen to the top of the dozens and dozens of people" who have threatened Palin since 2008, when she emerged on the national stage. "He stands out as the most persistent," trying to reach her through friends, associates and family members, he said.
Another court hearing is scheduled for next month, when Van Flein said Palin could seek a six-month order.
Palin travels extensively around the country, giving speeches, rallying support for conservative candidates she favors and, just this week, rooting for daughter Bristol as she competed on "Dancing with the Stars."
The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman newspaper first reported the case.
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BECKY BOHRER 09/29/10 10:23 PM ET Associated Press