Tim Cook targeted by possibly armed stalker
Apple CEO allegedly received photos of loaded pistol
Apple has been granted a restraining order against a Virginia woman it said has been stalking Apple CEO Tim Cook for more than a year, emailing him photos of a loaded pistol and trespassing at his home, according to court filings.
In its application, Apple accused the woman of “erratic, threatening, and bizarre behavior.” The company included in the application copies of photos, emails and tweets purporting to come from the woman. Apple said in the application that it believes the woman “may be armed and is still in the South Bay Area and intends to return to (Cook’s) residence or locate him otherwise in the near future.”
The order bars the woman from possessing guns, approaching any Apple employees including Cook, entering any Apple property or going to Cook’s Palo Alto residence.
The suspected harasser is in the South Bay area and may be armed, Apple said in its application last week for a court order. The Cupertino technology giant made the request on Thursday. A judge granted it Friday, and the order was made public Monday afternoon by Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Cook first learned in late 2020 that he was the subject of the woman’s obsession because he receives alerts when he’s tagged on Twitter, the application said. The woman, using the last name “Cook,” claimed she was the Apple CEO’s wife and he was father to her twins.
She tweeted about the purported relationship a dozen times on Halloween 2020. Between late October and mid-November of that year, she emailed Cook some 200 times, the messages showing “a significant escalation in tone, becoming threatening and highly disturbing,” the application said. A series of missives contained photos of a snub-nosed revolver and cartridges. In an email expressing a desire for a sexual relationship with Cook, she said her patience was “almost done,” the application said.
The application names the subject of the restraining order as a 45-year-old woman from Virginia.
The alleged stalker’s Twitter feed also makes reference to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Google and Microsoft did not respond to questions about the woman.
Meanwhile, she was registering fake corporations, some with “highly offensive corporate names,” in