Last week, Meredith Watson publicly accused Virginia’s lieutenant governor Justin Fairfax of raping her when they were in college together nearly two decades ago. Now, another part of her past has also resurfaced.
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According to Politico, Maryland court records indicated that an unidentified man took out a restraining order against Watson in July 2008. In a petition for the restraining order, the man said Watson “was detaining me against my will … [and] not letting me leave” a vacation home in Corolla, N.C., and “dented the trunk” of his vehicle with her fist.
Watson was also accused showed up at the man’s house saying “she was going to kill herself” and sent “threatening text messages.”
The court apparently took the allegations seriously enough to grant the temporary restraining order.
Watson’s lawyer, Nancy Erika Smith, said it was a seven-day court order and that she “was not in the Courtroom and did not know about the proceedings or have an opportunity to be heard.” She also said the man “abandoned the effort after hearing from Ms. Watson’s lawyer.” Smith also claimed the dispute was about $2,000 that was owed to Watson. Other than that, the nature of Watson’s relationship with the man was not immediately disclosed.
“The man who filed the request for the order did not respond to a request for comment for this story, nor did Fairfax through his office,” Politico reported.
Watson came forward Friday and claimed Fairfax raped her while they were students at Duke University in 2000, according to a report from the Washington Post. Watson’s claim came less than a week after Vanessa Tyson said Fairfax forced her to give him oral sex during the summer of 2004.
Watson also claimed former NBA player and Fox Sports analyst Corey Maggette, who played at Duke for one year from 1998 to 1999, raped her, too.
Watson’s lawyer told the Post that her client only wants Fairfax to resign. That echoed the sentiments of Tyson, who said she only went public after she saw Fairfax was on the verge of being elevated to governor when it was discovered that Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has racist images on his medical school yearbook page.
However, Northam has refused to resign, even as Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring admitted that he, too, has worn blackface in the past. If Northam, Herring and Fairfax — all Democrats — resign, that would make House of Delegates Speaker and Republican Kirk Cox the governor of Virginia.
Fairfax has denied both Tyson’s and Watson’s claims. Maggette has also denied Watson’s accusations.
SEE ALSO:
How Is Ralph Northam Still Governor Of Virginia?
Black Lawmakers Could Lead Virginia Past Blackface, Sex Scandals
