CARLSBAD COUNCILWOMAN OBTAINS RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST CRITICS

Cori Schumacher calls ‘obsessive conduct’ online from three men is threatening

Carlsbad Councilwoman Cori Schumacher has obtained a temporary restraining order against three men whose online behavior she says has become increasingly threatening.

The order grants Schumacher protection from Carlsbad residents Anthony Bona and Larry Posner, and from former resident Noel Breen, who moved to the Palm Springs area about a year ago.

Schumacher says in the document that she became aware of Bona, who lives in her council district, in mid-2019 when he was removed from the social media site Nextdoor “due to an ongoing pattern of ‘veiled threats’ associated with me.” He also sent emails to city employees attempting to gain access to her personal phone number and threatened to sue her for not responding to him online.

Bona linked up with Posner and Breen to pursue her further on Facebook, Schumacher states in the document filed Sept. 10 in Vista Superior Court.

“The most recent threats by A. Bona, threatening to force me to leave my home and stalking after over a year of consistent, increasingly obsessive and distressing activity directed at me and those who publicly associate with me (who fear retaliation), exceed Constitutionally protected activity and illustrate a credible threat,” Schumacher said in her request for the restraining order.

The councilwoman did not respond to an email this week asking about the restraining order. A recording reached at one recent cellphone number for her is no longer in service, another number went to a Google subscriber voicemail.

In granting the temporary order the court set a hearing for Oct. 15. Until then, it states, Bona, Posner and Breen are not to harass Schumacher and must stay at least 100 yards away from her, her home, her car and her spouse’s workplace.

Bona’s Facebook comments about the councilwoman include, “Please get ready to move out of our wonderful city. That is — if you actually live here.”

He also states online that he’s watching Schumacher, comparing it to the game “Where’s Waldo?” and says that, “Now-a-days with high tech surveillance (and neighbors who hate your ass), it’s an easier game to play. Over the next couple months we will play a game of “Where’s Cori?”

In another post Bona states that he saw Schumacher at the Carlsbad pub O’sullivans, but was too busy to speak to her, and advises her to “continue to stay safe in 2020 — you never know what kind trouble you can find yourself in — especially in this Cori-led liberal society - lol.”

In addition to his other social media comments, for the past two months Bona has posted short videos on Youtube under the name “Regular Guy in Carlsbad.” Most of the videos, which each average about 10 minutes long, are highly critical and sometimes mock Schumacher for her actions on the council.

Bona’s most recent video shows him sitting with duct tape over his mouth in front of his usual backdrop of an American flag painted on a brick wall. The message on the screen says “Censorship is alive and well in Carlsbad, CA ... It is a dark day in Carlsbad when an elected official can weaponize the legal system against their constituents.”

Breen and Posner both declined to comment on the details of the legal action. Neither of them have made any Youtube videos. They both host Facebook pages that have posted comments critical of Schumacher, and they have spoken publicly during the open comments sessions at City Council meetings in recent years.

“We believe its a frivolous action, and we will prevail in court,” Posner said Tuesday.

Breen’s wife, Linda, who ran for the District 1 council seat against Schumacher, said the restraining order is an attempt to restrain her husband’s First Amendment rights.

“Cori’s animosity toward myself and my husband is well documented,” Linda Breen said. “It is extremely clear that my husband has done nothing that possibly could be construed as stalking or harassing. This is simply political retribution ... and an attempt to infringe on his freedom.”

phillip.diehl@sduniontribune.com

Cori Schumacher