U.S. Rep. Katie Porter was granted a five-year restraining order against an ex-boyfriend on Tuesday, Dec. 17, after a judge agreed that she had been targeted with harassment and threats the congresswoman has described as harming her relationship with her family and her professional reputation.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Elia Naqvi agreed that Porter had received “harassing” emails and texts from Julian Willis, Porter’s ex-boyfriend. The judge added that she found it “very concerning” that Willis had allegedly violated a temporary restraining order that Porter was granted against him less than a month ago.
Willis did not show up for the hearing, though Judge Naqvi confirmed that Willis had been properly notified about it ahead of time. Willis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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The order, which is in force for five years but is legally referred to as a permanent restraining order, mandates that Willis stop contacting Porter and her children, and that he stay away from her. According to Porter’s attorney, Willis is currently living in New Jersey.
Porter, 50, has alleged in court filings that Willis subjected her to “psychological abuse” and “three months of ongoing threats and harassment.” Between late August and late November, Porter alleged that Willis, 55, sent her more than 1,000 text messages and emails, despite her telling him to stop and blocking his texts.
Porter in her initial request for a restraining order wrote that Willis’ “struggles with mental health and substance abuse have created an unsafe and unpredictable situation for me, my children, my family and my work colleagues.” The congresswoman has also accused Willis of trying to extort her by spreading false information to family, journalists and co-workers.
During testimony Tuesday morning, Porter told Judge Naqvi that Willis ignored the temporary restraining order by sending her six or seven emails and leaving dozens of messages for her professional contacts. Willis argued the terms of the order didn’t cover him since he lives out of state, Porter added.
“(The emails) said the order didn’t apply, that he would not stop, that he would punish the absolute ‘f’ out of me,” Porter told the judge.
Porter and her attorney waited quietly in the family law courtroom at the Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange for more than an hour as the judge heard numerous other cases involving restraining orders. The congresswoman declined to comment further following the hearing.
Porter is finishing up her third term in Congress. Rather than run for re-election this year, she instead vied for California’s open U.S. Senate seat, losing in the primary. She is rumored to be considering a run for state governor. In a recent interview with an SCNG reporter, Porter said her immediate plans are to focus on her return to UC Irvine School of Law and to listen to her neighbors, business owners and nonprofit leaders to contemplate the future of California.
