Restraining order sought by city of Oakland against political organizer Seneca Scott

The city of Oakland has applied for a restraining order against Seneca Scott, a prominent political organizer who ran for mayor in 2022 and was a leader of the recall campaign against Mayor Sheng Thao. 

Workplace violence restraining orders are a type of court order that an employer can seek to protect their employees from violence and harassment. According to the application for the restraining order, which was filed by the Oakland city attorney in Alameda County Superior Court today, Scott made a “credible threat of violence” against Brandon Harami, a member of Thao’s staff.

The application for the workplace violence restraining order was prompted by recent social media posts by Scott in which he published Harami’s home address, as well as his cell phone number and personal email address.

The city’s move follows over a year of statements made by Scott, mostly on social media, accusing Harami, who is gay, of being a pedophile. Scott has provided no evidence to back his claims up. He previously took down posts calling Harami a “minor attracted person” after an attorney representing Harami warned Scott he could face a defamation lawsuit, according to records reviewed by The Oaklandside. 

Some of Scott’s posts about Harami have garnered responses from other social media users saying Harami should be harmed. In one response, an X user called Harami a “F’ing perverted pig!” and wrote, “Anyone caught with a minor should have it cut off!” Another person wrote, “Map?  Wood chipper….slow feed….”

Oakland’s request to an Alameda County Superior Court judge asks that Scott be prohibited from harassing or attacking Harami, following or stalking him during work hours, contacting him directly or indirectly, and entering Harami’s workplace, which is City Hall. It asks that Scott be “prohibited from disseminating [Harami’s] personal contact information or address.”

The city attorney’s office wrote in its 28-page application that Scott would still be permitted to participate in public meetings, like City Council meetings, over Zoom.

In a brief phone call with The Oaklandside this afternoon, Scott said he wasn’t aware of the city’s attempt to secure a restraining order and added, “Who cares?” Scott declined to comment further and ended the call. 

Shortly after that phone call, Scott, who has previously declined The Oaklandside’s interview requests, posted on X, “I don’t talk to you stupid fucks at Soggyside.”  

The city’s application for a workplace violence restraining order and a temporary restraining order has not yet been granted. Scott has the right to defend himself and argue that the order should not be granted. A judge will consider the application within two to three weeks, according to the Judicial Branch of California, which oversees the state courts.

Hundreds of social media posts

The restraining order application includes a declaration by Harami, who has worked for Sheng Thao since 2019 and previously worked on various political campaigns, including as the canvassing director for Jane Kim’s run for San Francisco mayor in 2018, according to his Linkedin profile.

Harami wrote that Scott started posting about him in October 2022. At the time, Scott was one of nine other candidates running against Thao in the mayor’s race. Since then, Scott has “made hundreds of posts on X” about Harami, according to his statement.

A review of Scott’s posts on X by The Oaklandside turned up over two dozen posts in which Scott referenced Harami’s identity as a gay man, sometimes including a pizza emoji, a coded reference to pedophilia.

In a Nov. 17, 2024, post on X, Scott posted a message suggesting that Pride month isn’t just a celebration of LGBTQ people but that it’s also a show of support for “MAPs,” an acronym for “minor-attracted persons.” 

Scott encouraged his followers to “ask [Harami] how he feels about MAP,” adding, “I bet he won’t answer.” He ended the post with a pizza emoji.

Harami received “harassing calls and texts” immediately after Scott posted Harami’s home address, email address, and phone number on X, according to the restraining order application.

“Initially, Mr. Scott’s posts were political criticisms of me, which I accepted as an exercise of his free speech rights,” Harami wrote in his declaration. “However, Mr. Scott’s posts quickly escalated from political critiques to harassing and homophobic attacks.”

According to the application for a restraining order, Scott has repeatedly accused Harami of being a pedophile and falsely accused Harami’s fathers, who are also gay, of sexually abusing him.

“Accusing queer people of sexually abusing children is a common and hurtful homophobic tactic,” Harami said in his declaration. “Moreover, such vile accusations can put their targets at risk of physical violence by vigilantes who believe such lies and imagine themselves to be protecting children from harm.”

Harami wrote in his declaration that Scott’s comments are “especially scary because he has publicized that he has an extensive firearms collection.” 

The restraining-order application includes photos, taken from an Instagram account allegedly used by Scott, in which Scott appears to be posing with a rifle. Another photo shows pistols, revolvers, shotguns, a rifle, and large-capacity magazines displayed on a couch.

If a judge grants the restraining order, Scott would be “prohibited from owning, possessing, purchasing, receiving, or attempting to purchase or receive firearms (guns), firearm parts, and ammunition while the protective order is in effect,” according to the city’s application for the order. 

Harami, who declined to speak with The Oaklandside, previously said in an interview that Scott’s behavior has him worried for the safety of other Oakland residents. “Right-wing people come to Oakland to try to combat ‘wokeness and progressiveness’ with violence,” Harami said at the time. “When Seneca goes on Fox News and speaks about this nationally, it’s inviting more of that hate and bigotry into our city.”

Scott has appeared several times on Fox News as a guest, discussing crime in Oakland and criticizing “phony woke progressives.”

Last year, multiple East Bay political organizations, including the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club, condemned a statement Scott made about Harami being a pedophile and urged community leaders to avoid giving him a platform. The Alameda County Democratic Party also condemned Scott’s attack. In response, Scott issued a statement saying he supports “LGBTQIA+ rights.” 

Harami faced anti-LGBTQ harassment in San Francisco

Scott’s statements aren’t the first time Harami has faced harassment because of his sexuality. Three years ago, when he was active in San Francisco politics, Harami was subjected to similar false accusations of supporting pedophilia.

According to the Bay Area Reporter, Harami was arguing on Twitter with Susan Reynolds, the editor emeritus of the Marina Times Newspaper, when Reynolds claimed he was a “man who is fine with adult men dating underage boys.”

The claim appeared to be a reference to Harami’s support for Senate Bill 145, a law written by San Francisco State Senator Scott Weiner that reversed discriminatory treatment of LGBTQ people under the state’s sex offender laws. The bill had support from law enforcement groups like the California District Attorneys Association and California Police Chiefs Association and civil rights groups. It was signed into law in 2020 by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Reynold’s accusations against Harami led several Democratic Party clubs, including San Francisco’s biggest LGBTQ clubs, to issue public letters denouncing her.