No stalking order for rival in GOP candidate murder plot

By CURT ANDERSON
AP Legal Affairs Writer

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A judge has denied a Florida Republican congressional candidate’s petition for a permanent restraining order against a former rival she accused of stalking and plotting to have her murdered by a purported foreign hit squad. Pinellas County Circuit Judge Doneene Loar ruled Friday that incidents involving GOP candidate Anna Paulina Luna did not meet the legal definition needed to prove repeated harassment by William Braddock. Luna has former President Donald Trump’s endorsement for the 13th congressional district seat being vacated by Democrat Charlie Crist, to whom she lost in 2020. Braddock decided against running in the 2022 election.