Man arrested after allegedly stalking Rep. Kyrsten Sinema for years
Jan 16, 2018, 4:15 PM | Updated: Jan 17, 2018, 7:42 am
(AP Photo/Matt York, File)
(AP Photo/Matt York, File)
PHOENIX — A man was arrested at U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema’s Washington, D.C. office last week after allegedly stalking her for years.
Amos Olagunju was arrested Friday by U.S. Capitol Police at Sinema’s office in the Longworth House building.
Olagunju had been stalking the Arizona congresswoman since 2014, despite warnings from Capitol Police and two court-ordered injunctions that barred him from contacting her, according to a special agent’s affidavit.
Olagunju reportedly pleaded not guilty to a federal stalking charge on Tuesday, a federal law enforcement official told NBC Washington.
The court filing said Sinema’s staffers reported the man after he arrived at their office and said that he had a meeting with the congresswoman. Police then arrested him for violating a court-ordered injunction.
The court filing also said the man had attempted to contact and “express his love” for Sinema at least 95 times in the summer of 2014.
In 2015 and 2016, Olagunju reportedly made several other attempts to contact her, including leaving voicemail messages and showing up at an April 2016 event in Chandler that she attended. He allegedly also sent a package to her campaign office, tried to volunteer for her campaign and called her D.C. office in November of last year.
Olagunju, who is from New York, was reportedly served with an injunction in 2017. Court filings showed that he was arrested previously in New York for traffic offenses.
A Facebook page that belongs to a “Amos Olagunju” featured many posts directed toward Sinema that dated back to 2015. One of the posts read, “My Love, My Life and My Blonde, You were doing these alone without me, when will we be together and having a romantic mood like all these. Give me the love my dear.”
Olagunju was expected to be in court on Friday for a preliminary and detention hearing, CNN reported.
Sinema, who is running for U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake’s seat this year, did not respond to a request for comment.
