Judge extends Palin, Cole protective orders for 6 months

Anchorage judge Suzanne Cole granted a six-month protective order Monday to two Wasilla women who allege a Pennsylvania man has stalked and threatened their families for more than a year.

Based on the testimony of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, 46, and Alaska Fund Trust Trustee Kristan Cole, 48, the judge extended the protective order prohibiting Shawn Christy, 18, from contacting the two women or their families.

Attorney Thomas Van Flein said the judge tried several times to reach Christy by phone to testify during the hearing, but the phone number provided was not operational.

Van Flein said Cole testified in person and Palin testified by phone.

“They went through the evidence and presented most of what had (been) presented earlier,” Van Flein said.

After the first hearing, Cole said the two had sought protective orders Sept. 28 after receiving a call from Christy from a 907 area code. She said he’d previously sent the receipt for a one-way plane ticket to Alaska and a receipt for what she says was the purchase of a gun.

Cole said she thought he was in Alaska and felt her family was in danger.

"Petitioner and counsel allege that the respondent has made numerous implied threats in his telephonic and written communication, including references to his guns, telling petitioner that she better watch her back and saying that he is buying a one way ticket to Alaska and sending the receipt for purchase of the guns,” the protective order states.

In phone interviews with the Frontiersman, the Christy family said their son is at home with them in Pennsylvania and has never been to Alaska. They say the gun receipt their son sent was for the sale of a gun he’d purchased in 2009 and sold in 2010.

Christy also alleges a sexual relationship with Palin, which court records show she denies.

“Petitioner testified that respondent has told her that he has had an affair with Gov. Palin and that petitioner needs to tell the FBI the truth about that affair," the filing stated. "Petitioner testified that these accusations led her to believe the respondent was delusional."

Far from denying the threats, Christy is a well-known personality to the U.S. Capital Police, Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to his father, Craig Christy.

He said his son has been contacted and evaluated as a threat by all three organizations, but no charges have been filed despite his more than 20 threats against President Barack Obama, more than 40 threats against 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain and another 40 against Palin.

A fan of Palin’s, Christy also spent $200 to attend a Pennsylvania event in August where she was the featured speaker.

“I was in the wrong,” Shawn Christy said in a phone interview earlier this month. “I think I learned my lesson and I am still learning my lesson.”

Contact Heather A. Resz at heather.resz@frontiersman.com or 352-2268.