US Capitol Police this week arrested a possible stalker outside the Capitol Hill office of Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ).
According to the federal police, law enforcement arrested Amos Olagunju at the congresswoman’s seventh floor office in the Longworth House Office Building on Jan. 15. The federal affidavit stated Olagunju has been stalking and menacing Sinema for at least four years, despite being warned by the US Capitol Police that he cannot contact her.
A US government official told the local media this week that Olagunju has pleaded not guilty to stalking her. This plea was made on Jan 18 in US District Court in Washington DC. Sinema’s office did not comment on the federal stalking case, and referred the media to local police.
The court filing that was made by the US Capitol Police stated that Sinema’s staffers called law enforcement on Jan. 15 to tell them that Olagunju had arrived at her Capitol Hill office and told them that he had a meeting with her. Police then arrested him for violating a court injunction to not contact her.
The court filing states that the man’s attempts to contact her included at least 95 attempts to contact and ‘express his love’ for her in the summer of 2014. He also made other attempts to contact her in 2015 and 2016. This included leaving her several voicemail messages and showing up at a campaign event in Arizona in April 2016.
The affidavit also states the man tried to contact her for months after that, including sending her a package at her campaign office. He also allegedly tried to volunteer for her campaign and called her Washington office in November 2017. The affidavit stated Olagunju is from New York City and was given an injunction from federal court ordering him to stop contacting the congresswoman. This affidavit was delivered by the New York Police Department. Federal court filings show that the man was arrested in New York several times for traffic offenses.
Facebook Posts Reveal Olagunju Delusions and General Weirdness
A Facebook page that belongs to Amos Olagunju had a series of strange posts about Sinema in 2015. Some of the postings are still public and included messages to the congresswoman that include, ‘do you know you are killing me with your love? I need to see your face. I am unable to sleep without you. Please show your love for me physically and spiritually.’ Another of his Facebook posts stated that he believed by this time next year, she would be carrying his baby.
Additional Stalking Cases
Stalking Addressed in 1996 Violence Against Women Act
The US Congress passed an anti-stalking law in 1996 as part of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Under the law, it is a federal crime to cross US state lines to harass or stalk a person if the conduct leads to fear of bodily harm or death to the victim, or to the family members of the person. Congress felt the need the address stalking at the federal level because of other serious stalking cases that have made the news in recent years. Below are more examples of federal stalking cases.
Actress Margot Robbie Tormented by Stalkers and Death Threats
Actress Margot Robbie, who has gotten plenty of Oscar buzz lately for her acting in the film I, Tonya, talked recently about some of the problems she has had in her career with stalkers and people making death threats against her. When she was cast as Harley Quinn in the film Suicide Squad, she became a major celebrity, which exposed her to some of the darker sides of fame.
Robbie noted in a recent media interview that it is necessary to do background checks on stalkers and nuts making death threats, which is a considerable expense. Many celebrities do not realize how many strange people will try to contact them or even threaten to kill them once their face becomes well known in millions of households.
Ex-Deputy in Tennessee Charged in Murder Plot of Police Officer
Each year, there are many stalking cases that do not involve anyone well known. One of them in 2018 has been a case in Hamblen County, Tennessee, where a former deputy is being charged with stalking and attempted murder.
Roger D. Lamb has been charged with aggravated stalking stemming from an incident that happened in July 2017. At that time, Lamb allegedly expressed a desire to kill a Tennessee police officer, as well as a supervisor at his old employer, according to the state police. The police noted that Lamb told two people at different times about his plot. One of the victims was Megan Moore, and she said recently that the man scared her to death.
Moore added that Lamb told his girlfriend about a plot to murder her. His girlfriend took him to a local hospital for a medical evaluation. But he continued to talk to hospital staff about his plan to kill and this led to his being arrested. She said that Lamb provided a lot of detail about his stalking and murdering plans; Moore is the live in girlfriend for the police officer that was being targeted.
According to Hamblen County Sheriff Esco Jarnagin, threats of murder always have to be taken seriously. He said that threatening the life of a police officer is always a crime and is never a smart thing to do.
Court records stated Lamb was released from the local jail on Jan. 15. This was after he spent more than a week in custody. He is required to wear a GPS device to track his whereabouts, and he also has to comply with monthly drug and alcohol screening. He also is not allowed to drive.