After months of dueling lawsuits and nasty accusations, the
chairwoman of the San Benito County Republican Party and members of
the San Benito County Militia agreed to drop legal actions against
one another Thursday.
Attorneys for Chairwoman Jennifer Zapata, the Militia and former
party chairman Marvin Jones met with Judge Harry Tobias in chambers
before officially dropping the actions Thursday morning.
Hollister – After months of dueling lawsuits and nasty accusations, the chairwoman of the San Benito County Republican Party and members of the San Benito County Militia agreed to drop legal actions against one another Thursday.
Attorneys for Chairwoman Jennifer Zapata, the Militia and former party chairman Marvin Jones met with Judge Harry Tobias in chambers before officially dropping the actions Thursday morning.
Zapata agreed not to pursue a request for a restraining order against Jones and members of the Militia – a group of county residents who get together every weekday morning for coffee and chit-chat – and Jones agreed to drop a motion claiming Zapata’s actions were an attempt to limit members’ free speech by preventing them from attending party meetings.
Both parties said Tobias told their attorneys in chambers that he would most likely deny the Militia’s motion asking that Zapata be prohibited from preventing Militia members from participating in central committee meetings. The judge also said he would have denied Zapata’s request for a restraining order.
Zapata claimed Militia members harassed her, invaded her privacy and made her fear for her safety, which they have denied. She said she agreed to drop the request because the harassment has decreased in recent weeks.
“I think it was a good outcome all around,” Zapata said. “We’ve been wanting to move forward for some time now.”
While Jones is happy the feuding seems to have come to and end, he isn’t as pleased with the resolution as Zapata – claiming his reputation and that of Militia members has been dragged through the mud.
“It’s bittersweet,” he said. “This does the party no good. The party has been damaged. Not beyond repair, it will come back. But it will take a couple of years.”
The dispute between Zapata and the Militia stemmed from a power struggle within the local Republican Central Committee. Zapata believes Militia members’ alleged harassment is based on the rift between her, Jones and their supporters.
While Jones claims there is no power struggle – it was simply Zapata trying to expel people from the party she didn’t agree with politically – he believes the matters should have been handled internally within the California Republican Party, not in the courts.
Among the legal actions in recent months were a lawsuit Zapata filed against Jones for alleged misuse of party funds while he was chairman, and one he filed against Zapata for what he claims was an illegal expulsion from the central committee. Jones withdrew that action, saying he would pursue his complaint within the state Republican Party apparatus.
Zapata said her small claims suit against Jones for alleged misappropriation of funds will go forward, and whether she plans to file another restraining order depends on future actions of the Militia.
Militia members have denied Zapata’s claims and said they never harassed her in the first place.
