DESTROYED DUNE, Tried to Silence Watchdog -- First Amendment violator, St. Augustine Beach Mayor RICHARD BURTT O'BRIEN, Faces December 7, 2016 Hearing on Unconstitutional Injunction Against Government Watchdog Tom Reynolds

Attend December 7, 2016 Circuit Court hearing. Attend November 14, 2016 St. Augustine Beach City Commission meeting. Wear black armbands to protest Mayor RICH O'BRIEN's violation of Tom Reynolds' First Amendment rights.

TOM REYNOLDS REPORTED St. Augustine Beach Mayor RICH O'BRIEN's destruction of a dune and vegetation after Hurricane Matthew.  O'BRIEN responded with an unconstitutional injunction, a SLAPP in violation of Florida law.  Hearing is December 7, 2016.

Posted November 10, 2016 05:52 am - Updated November 10, 2016 06:19 am
By SHELDON GARDNER sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com
Hearing on St. Augustine Beach mayor’s injunction request delayed

A final decision has been delayed again in St. Augustine Beach Mayor Rich O’Brien’s request for an injunction for protection against stalking against beach resident Tom Reynolds.

On Wednesday, Judge Howard McGillin Jr. moved the hearing to Dec. 7.

The reasons for the delay request were a busy schedule of cases on Wednesday and the fact that the case could take several hours, said Tom Cushman, Reynolds’ attorney.

O’Brien asked for and received a temporary injunction in October, after signing a statement that he feared for his and his wife’s safety after incidents or emails he described in a petition.

In his petition for the injunction, O’Brien cited a couple of emails from Reynolds, which he described as profane and “disparaging.” His petition also described Reynolds yelling and using profanity about O’Brien to a hotel employee, an account that Reynolds has denied.

The petition also describes a City Commission meeting where O’Brien had Reynolds removed from the meeting because, according to O’Brien, Reynolds was “yelling and disrupting our meeting to the point where he would not be quiet.”

Reynolds, a regular speaker at City Commission meetings, has said the injunction is an attempt to silence him.

The hearing on a final injunction was initially scheduled for October but was moved to Wednesday, when McGillin rescheduled it again.

McGillin also on Wednesday extended the temporary injunction, which keeps Reynolds from contacting O’Brien in his personal life and also keeps him from coming near places O’Brien frequents.

At the October hearing, McGillin clarified that Reynolds can go to city property and city meetings, and that the intent of the temporary injunction is to prohibit his personal contact with O’Brien but not to limit Reynolds’ First Amendment rights.