Vermont mayor charges critic with stalking, assault

Ted Cohen VDC/BDN

The mayor of Vermont’s largest city has brought criminal charges against a critic of her administration.

Emma Mulvaney-Stanak claims in her complaint to police that Aryeh Moskowitz has made her “fear for my safety.”

Mulvaney-Stanak alleges that at one point he came close to her during a parade that she was attending with her child, making her feel unsafe, and on another chased her so that she got to the point of needing to run into a public bathroom and lock herself in.

Moskowitz is denying the mayor's claims, pleading not guilty in a court appearance.

His attorney requested that all conditions of release - including being banned from the main shopping district where City Hall is located - be removed.

He argued that this case involves a constituent who disagreed with an elected official and wanted to speak with that official and there is nothing criminal or abnormal about the behavior, according to a Reddit report.

The charge against the Burlington political provocateur comes in the wake of complaints from City Hall staff against journalist Todd DeLuca.

Mayoral staff earlier this month threatened DeLuca with a trespass charge if he didn't leave City Hall.

DeLuca said he was issued the trespass warning after he stood outside the mayor's office waiting to interview her.

He wanted to ask the mayor about why she saw the need to seek counsel from a mental-health interventionist to address the Moskowitz case.