GOP Candidate Challenging Maxine Waters Arrested For Allegedly Stalking Ex-Girlfriend

Omar Navarro, a Republican who has run several long-shot campaigns against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and has support from allies of President Donald Trump , was arrested early Sunday for allegedly stalking his ex-girlfriend and violating a restraining order.

San Francisco police arrested Navarro after his ex-girlfriend, DeAnna Lorraine Tesoriero, reported he had been threatening her that night, according to the Daily Beast , which was the first to report on the arrest. Navarro challenged Waters in 2016 and 2018, and he is again running in 2020.

Police responded to the report at around 2 a.m. Sunday and later charged Navarro with extortion, criminal threats, stalking and violation of a restraining order, a spokesperson for the San Francisco police confirmed to HuffPost.

Tesoriero, a conservative commentator who is in the GOP primary in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ’s California district, told the Daily Beast she saw Navarro wandering around near her apartment Saturday night. She then received a text message from an unknown number that read: “Bitch, I came to see you.”

“Men in this country get treated unjustly, too, you have to acknowledge that,” Navarro told the Daily Beast in response to his arrest. “Just because a woman says something doesn’t mean it’s true.” 

Navarro appears to have a history of threatening and stalking women.

In August, a judge granted Tesoriero’s request for a five-year restraining order against Navarro, citing his pattern of “harassing and stalking” her, according to the San Jose Mercury News . Tesoriero said that after they broke up, Navarro had subjected her to “endless threats” through text messages and in person.

“I have not had any sleep. I’ve lost 8 pounds,” she said in court. “I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t feeling scared.”

Navarro pleaded guilty in 2016 for placing an illegal tracking device on his estranged wife’s car. The judge sentenced him to a day in jail and 18 months probation.

Navarro has touted support from Trump allies and right-wing figures, including InfoWars founder Alex Jones, former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone, and former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

In 2017, he hosted a fundraiser at one of Trump’s golf clubs in southern California. 

Need help? In the U.S., call 1-866-331-9474 or text “loveis” to 22522 for the National Dating Abuse Helpline .

Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline .