Craig and Shawn Christy of McAdoo, Pennsylvania, might not get the chance to shoot hoops or go fishing together as often as they’d like, but the pair is always sure to make time for one cherished activity: stalking Sarah Palin’s family. The 47-year-old father and his 19-year-old son were arrested on Thursday on charges of making harassing phone calls to the former Alaska governor’s relatives and attorneys earlier this month. While the indictment does not name the specific individuals whose numbers the two called “repeatedly and continuously” from August 1 to August 9, this is not the first time the Palins have heard (and heard) from the Christys.
In September 2010, an Alaska state court issued Shawn with a restraining order forbidding him from having any contact with Sarah Palin. It was renewed in May, when Craig was also served with an order. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney John Gallagher, “There’s a level of obsession here that elevates the conduct from merely creepy to truly threatening.” Along with making hundreds of phone calls, the pair e-mailed, sent gifts, and traveled to Anchorage with the intention of getting in touch with Palin and daughter Willow, who they insist started sending “sexually explicit” texts to Shawn in September 2009.
According to Karen Christy (the wife and mother):
“All of these things have been happening to my family, and the police and the FBI and the federal agents don’t seem to [care] … about going after Sarah Palin because she’s a big political figure.”
She denied the family is a threat to Sarah Palin, and said Craig and Shawn made the recent phone calls to try to locate an original copy of a letter threatening Willow Palin that was submitted as evidence against Shawn earlier this year. Shawn Christy said he had no involvement in the letter.
Sarah Palin obviously does do a lot of incomprehensible things, but the mother-daughter sexting of a random Pennsylvania teenager seems like a bit of a stretch, especially when you take into account Shawn’s previous threats against President Barack Obama and John McCain. Or, maybe messing with this kid is just another secret, sinister parlor game left over from the 2008 campaign trail.
Father, son arrested on charges of harassing Palin family [Reuters]
Sarah Palin Stalking Case: Craig Christy, Shawn Christy Arrested [HuffPo]
