Lawyers for San Diego County are scheduled to appear in court Friday morning to ask a judge to extend and expand a temporary restraining order that was granted earlier this month.
The legal action — the first of its kind that county officials can — was brought against Justin James Castro, a former Registrar of Voters employee who stands accused of repeatedly harassing and threatening co-workers over what he claims is continuing voter fraud.
Castro also has taken his insults and intimidation before the Board of Supervisors, the petition states. During the public comment section of a board meeting in May, he singled out one of the four women named in the petition and called her a derogatory slur on live television.
“You can’t do anything about me calling you 50,000 times, and you’re not going to stop me,” Castro yelled.
The county is seeking to broaden the temporary restraining order issued Aug. 9 and make it permanent. It is due to expire Friday.
Officials said they worry Castro’s behavior is escalating and they are afraid for at least four women identified as victims in the petition. In addition to their workplaces, the county wants the women’s homes and cars off limits to the former elections worker.
“This has placed numerous county employees in sustaining fear for their safety and the safety of their coworkers,” the petition states. “They have suffered significant emotional and psychological harm, including loss of sleep and anxiety.”
Castro insisted Thursday he has done nothing wrong.
He said he is only trying to prove there are weaknesses in the county’s mail-in voting process, and his former bosses will not listen to him. He did not respond to questions about whether it is appropriate to scare people or use vulgarities in addressing them.
“They just don’t want me to call them anymore,” Castro said. “Do you think it’s appropriate for the county to ignore my request for three years? Do you think it’s right for anyone to be able to anyone else and vote for them?”
Castro also denies he stalked anyone, and said he has been careful not to disturb the women outside of regular business hours.
“I bugged them at work 100 percent,” he said. “I did not bug them outside of work.”
The workers targeted by the former elections employee have been forced to alter their routines to protect themselves, the petition said.
San Diego County also was forced to hire armed security guards to protect the registrar’s office workforce. Officials also retained an outside law firm to represent the county in the proceeding.
“However, none of these efforts has had an impact,” the petition said. “Castro’s behavior persists and continues to escalate. Moreover, he has repeatedly stated that he will ignore the cease-and-desist letters, will ignore any future restraining order, and is willing to be arrested.”
The 46-year-old Normal Heights resident worked at the elections office for 20 years before he was disciplined for recurring violations and then placed on unpaid leave in 2019, according to court records and other documents.
The San Diego Union-Tribune is withholding the names of the alleged victims.
Over the past 18 months, Castro has ed former colleagues hundreds of times, confronting them in public spaces, sending emails warning of assaults to come and leaving angry messages on their county voicemail systems, the petition alleges.
In bizarre and expletive-riddled messages, he has repeatedly accused several women of ignoring his warnings about problems with the county’s handling of mail-in ballots — claims that have never been ed with any evidence.
Castro also stalked his former co-workers, confronting them in and outside the County istration Center and other county facilities, the petition states.
“On March 24, 2023, Castro waited for (one victim) to park at work and then drove down a side street between her parking spot and the ROV building and yelled at her about being able for missing ballots,” it says.
The 16-page document filed last week in San Diego Superior Court underscores a growing concern that elected officials and everyday government workers are being deliberately targeted by people who disagree with policymakers and those who implement their direction.
The balance between public safety and free speech has never been more difficult to manage, as more speakers at public meetings use slurs and rage about perceived conspiracies, experts say.
“Generally, public officials can’t not allow these people to speak at public meetings, even if they are swearing and even if they are saying vile things,” said Sean McMorris, the transparency, ethics and ability manager at California Common Cause.
“Political attacks are all protected speech,” he said. “But it’s no longer protected once you invoke viable threats.”
Researchers and public officials have noted a sharp increase in the number of attacks against government officials in recent years. The public comment portions of board and commission meetings regularly attract angry speeches and often-lewd criticisms.
According to a recent study from the California Threats and Harassment Initiative, a partnership between the Institute for Civil Civic Engagement and the Violence, Inequality and Power Lab at the University of San Diego, the trend is doing real damage to public service.
Among other findings, almost 90 percent of all San Diego County elected officials have either been threatened or harassed, or witnessed abuse directed at their colleagues. The same report said 75 percent of all elected officials reported receiving threats or harassment.
Some 61 percent of elected women and 32 percent of men have considered leaving public service due to threats and harassment, the report found.
“The presence and growth of these attacks undermines all aspects of community cohesion, further weakening our ability to address all of our collective challenges,” researchers wrote.
Carl Luna, a longtime political science professor who directs the Institute for Civil Civic Engagement, reviewed the restraining order petition and said county officials were right in seeking to protect their employees.
“I don’t understand why this guy is still on the street,” he said. “His behavior is dangerous.”
Luna said the county met its burden of protecting free speech by warning Castro several times that he could not be permitted to keep threatening public officials and employees.
“Beyond the personal harm he has caused, he is causing public harm by disrupting the ability of people to carry out the functions of government,” he said. “Unfortunately, we have developed a culture of bullying which extends from our schools right up to people in the highest positions of power.”
In January, the Board of Supervisors tried but failed to adopt stricter rules to govern public participation at meetings when supervisors split 2-2 on a proposal from District 3 representative Terra Lawson-Remer.
This article has been updated with a response from Castro.
