So it turns out Sacramento city leaders aren’t thrilled about sharing a building with a staffer who thinks they should be terrified to leave the house. Last Wednesday, attorneys for the city filed a request for a temporary restraining order against Skyler Michel-Evleth, aka Skyler Henry, a communications staffer recently hired by Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela. The TRO request was prompted by several statements Henry made on his podcast condoning the harassment of public officials and Sacramento’s mayor and city manager specifically.
“The bottom line is we're not looking to prevent his being hired into this division," City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood told KCRA 3. "We're simply asking to protect our employees and provide a safe and secure workplace."
Ludicrous as the statements may have been, they did not meet the legal standard for a TRO and “there are obvious First Amendment concerns,” a judge said. The city’s request was denied.
Now Valenzuela and her staffer are biting back. They’ve announced an anti-SLAPP lawsuit against Sacramento. The suit accuses city leaders of infringing on Henry’s free speech rights and preventing Valenzuela from doing her job.
Read more about the lawsuit at the Sacramento Bee.