Two men allege harassment by Harrison supporters in new legal filings

BAKERSFIELD (CA)
The Californian

Nov. 2, 2019

By Stacey Shepard

Two men being sued by Monsignor Craig Harrison for defamation said in a legal filing last week they are being harassed and intimidated by the priest’s family and supporters, possibly in an effort to silence them.

The allegations were made in an anti-SLAPP motion filed by the defense that seeks to have the lawsuit dismissed on grounds that it targets legitimate free speech about issues of public significance. (SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.)

Defendant Stephen Brady of Roman Catholic Faithful, an Illinois-based Catholic watchdog group, said in the filing he received “a series of bizarre emails” from Harrison’s brother, Rick Harrison, in August and September, “apparently intended to harass and intimidate me.”

The same filing contains a statement from Ryan Dixon, a former mentee of Harrison’s who is now a Catholic monk known as Brother Justin Gilligan, that says his mother has been the subject of harassment. It says she has moved out of state because she feared what might happen to her.

Craig A. Edmonston, Harrison’s attorney in the case, said he is unaware of such harassment.

“The case is simply about defamation, lies and restoring Monsignor’s reputation and clearing his name,” Edmonston said, adding that he will file an opposition to the motion in the coming weeks.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.