A Peoria judge has rescinded an injunction of harassment sought by Peoria Unified School District governing board candidate Heather Rooks against Democratic activist Josh Gray.
The injunction claimed three instances of harassment, which Judge Ken Nyman said did not meet the level of harassment necessary to grant the injunction.
Nyman said for an injunction against harassment, you need a pattern of harassment. You would need more than one incident that can be clearly characterized as harassment, and in this case, none of them rose to that level, he said.
“There is not a pattern of harassment here yet, and there is certainly no pattern of harassment against (the Rooks family), so we simply can’t issue an injunction against harassment unless there is a pattern,” Nyman said.
Arizona state law defines harassment as a series of acts over any period of time directed at a specific person that would cause “a reasonable person to be seriously alarmed, annoyed or harassed and the conduct in fact seriously alarms, annoys or harasses the person and serves no legitimate purpose.”
The claims focused on incidents that happened during the past year on social media, both directly and indirectly involving Gray both on private and public pages.
In refuting Rooks' claims, James Barton, lawyer for Gray, said all the allegations were “not made to her, but about her.”
He cited court case Lafaro v. Cahill, which stated to reach the level of harassment, there must be direct communication.
Barton said for someone running for office, it is a reach to say having her picture taken in the parking lot of a school is harassment. None of the claims come close to the standard, he said.
“This petition is deficient on its face. None of the three examples, none of them, are speaking to the petition. This isn’t even close,” Barton said. “And frankly, with all due respect to the subjective feelings of the petitioner, you have to allege, at a minimum to show harassment, you have to allege direct communication, and it has not been alleged in any of these three.”
Rooks said she filed the injunction because she doesn’t feel right about the incidents that occurred to her.
“This has been very hard for me and my family, and I would just like some type of protection so that my kids are safe and I feel safe in my home,” Rooks said.
Throughout the campaign, Gray has spoken out often against PUSD school board candidates Rooks and Devon Updegraff-Day, who he says have made a career out of spreading misinformation about the district and its practices.
Gray will seek reimbursement for lawyer fees incurred on this case.
“I believe justice was served, and I am very thankful,” Gray said.
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
By 
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here