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C.A. Affirms Restraining Order Against Man Who Threatened Solis With Sexual Violence
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The Court of Appeal for this district yesterday affirmed a three-year workplace restraining order barring a man who sports a swastika on his clothing and has disrupted Board of Supervisors’ meetings from contacting Supervisor Hilda Solis or her deputy Maria Ponce “in any way” other than in the form of a written communication from his lawyer or papers delivered by a process server.
Similar orders were obtained by the county protecting Supervisors Janice Hahn, Kathryn Barger, and Holly Mitchell but the defendant, Armando Herman, did not appeal them and, the opinion notes, “they are final and binding.” So is the order that he “may only participate in Board meetings remotely.”
Authoring the unpublished opinion—which is loaded with vulgarities and crude expressions Herman is quoted as using in public sessions and in emails to the supervisors—was Presiding Justice Elwood Lui of Div. Two.
Credibility Lacking
One email message to Solis threatened her with an act of sexual violence at her home. Herman denied sending it but was found by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Gary Eto not to be credible.
The messages, Lui wrote, “justify a restraining order because they show an intent to commit sexual assault at an official’s home.” He said that testimony before Eto “shows multiple threats from Herman over several years, none of which he denied.”
Among the conduct toward Solis and her staff cited by Lui was “lingering in the shadows while they are working in public; using dehumanizing language; taking down staffers’ license plate numbers and saying they will have an ‘accident’; and leaving a voice mail laden with violent language like ‘kill,’ ‘strangle,’ ‘shoot;’ and ‘lynch,’ ” commenting:
“The court could find that Herman’s language and behavior were escalating and would place a reasonable person in fear of harm. It served no legitimate purpose other than to terrorize. The sexually threatening messages received by Solis and Ponce are consistent with the language Herman used when addressing women. His manifestations of hatred toward female employees pose a credible threat that he would commit an act of violence against persons he sees as vulnerable.”
Horvath Excluded
There was no order protecting the board’s newest member, Leslie Horvath, who was sworn in on Dec. 5, 2022. Much of Herman’s conduct toward the other board members occurred before that date.
On Aug. 10, 2020, an opinion by Lui was filed upholding a workplace restraining order against Herman and in favor of Deputy Los Angeles City Attorney Strefan Fauble whom the defendant had threatened at City Council meetings.
In February, the City of Downey obtained a permanent restraining order barring Herman from attending meetings of the City Council.
Yesterday’s opinion comes in County of Los Angeles v. Herman, B333177.
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