After a year of social media accusations that she was a “sexual predator,” Rep. Leslie Herod, D-Denver, has been granted a restraining order against the spokesperson for state Treasurer Dave Young with a judge ruling the evidence does not support the claims.

The restraining order is against Sheena Kadi, the public information officer and communications director for Young. Kadi is a longtime Democratic political operative and the the vice chair of public relations and marketing for the Colorado Democratic Party.

For more than a year, Kadi accused Herod of being a sexual predator, using the X account she also uses for communications on behalf of the state treasurer.

In addition, Kadi filed a complaint with the legislature’s Office of Workplace Relations. Herod said she never saw the actual complaint because it was withdrawn. There were also hundreds of text messages Kadi sent to a variety of organizations associated with Herod, the lawmaker told Colorado Politics.

Herod, the first Black gay woman in the Colorado General Assembly, accused Kadi of being “obsessed” with her.

“I’ve done nothing,” Herod said. 

Kadi made more than a dozen accusations on X, formerly known as Twitter. Many of those accusations remain on her account. A post accusing Herod of sexual assault last December has since been deleted. 

In a Feb. 12 ruling, Denver County Court Judge Clarissa Gonzales found Kadi’s accusations not credible and granted Herod a year-long protective order. The order requires Kadi to keep away from Herod, setting a 100-yard requirement, although with some wiggle room, given that both women work at the state Capitol and could attend the same party functions.

The order also requires Kadi to stop posting about Herod on social media, although it does not require Kadi to remove her previous postings.

“She is unable to post about me or be in my space,” Herod told Colorado Politics.

She said the judge banned Kadi from setting up fake social media accounts, as well. 

In January, Gonzales granted Kadi a temporary restraining order, based on Kadi’s recollection of several incidents in which she claimed Herod assaulted her. 

In a transcript of the Feb. 12 ruling, provided by Herod’s attorney, Harvey Steinberg, Gonzales recounted the testimony of several contemporaneous witnesses who disputed Kadi’s version of the facts, finding those witnesses credible. In this case, the judge was ruling on a restraining order Kadi filed against Herod. The court earlier granted that order – and vacated it on Feb. 12.    

Gonzales determined that Kadi told people she and Herod were in a romantic relationship and that Kadi never called what happened between them assault until years later. It was Kadi who continued to pursue Herod romantically, not the other way around, Gonzales said in her ruling.

“Ms. Kadi’s testimony in this case is found to be incredible by this Court, not only because the nature of her testimony just simply defies common sense in so many instances, but also because the other exhibits, directly the reliable evidence proves this to be simply not consistent,” Gonzales said.

In addition to finding the allegation of sexual assault not credible, Gonzales said all other “so-called incidents of violence or threats are wholly unsubstantiated.”

Herod called the ruling “bittersweet.”

“I’ve had to go through this process with people saying these things about me, taking action against me,” she said.

As a result, she had been excluded from conversations or events, Herod said.

The lawmaker also claimed that organizations backing her had to deal with Kadi’s “bullying.” They included nonprofits fighting for the rights of trans kids or for equality, she said. 

“This caused harm to my reputation, and glad I have a court ruling,” Herod said, claiming the ruling is unusual because, she said, Black women are rarely protected. 

But some of the damage to her reputation is irreparable, she said.  

Herod said she she intends to pursue legal costs from Kadi. 

“It’s been hell, extremely disheartening,” Herod said.

“If you take out her statement and affirmations to the press, it wouldn’t have amounted to an article,” Herod said.

Kadi spoke to Colorado Politics about hiring former staffers from Herod’s office for a 2023 story. Kadi was one of at least a half-dozen sources for that report, along with former staffers who supported Herod.

The sexual assault allegation is the most hurtful of the claims, Herod said, adding that Kadi “shouldn’t be working in this building.” Hero also claimed that Kadi is being protected by her boss.

“Protect Black women, stand with Black women,” Herod said.

Herod publicly addressed the allegations in the House last week, although not naming Kadi personally, during a debate on House Bill 1072, which would expand the state’s rape shield law to prohibit the admission of evidence on a victim’s dress or hairstyle as evidence of consent.

The measure, as amended, also addresses when it’s appropriate to bring up a victim’s history of false reporting.

Herod said she had to go through multiple court appearances and the expense of hiring an attorney to defend herself. Herod told colleagues the person “who works at the Capitol” had made false accusations against others “for political gain” and who had made false accusations against others. That information would have been helpful to her case, Herod indicated, had she been allowed to use it. 

Kadi, in a response on Friday, March 22, said “It was not the judge’s decision. I willingly agreed to what I believed to be a mutual order, which I now know to not be the case. I have expressed my concerns with my attorney and am currently looking for new legal representation.”

Responding on behalf of the treasury department, deputy director Eric Rothaus said, “Ms. Kadi has been a member of the department for close to two and a half years. This issue is something she’s addressing in her personal capacity and it’s not something we can discuss beyond that. We remain focused on the important work we’re doing at Treasury.”

Rothaus did not respond to a question from Colorado Politics on whether it is appropriate for Kadi to use an X account for both her personal accusations against Herod and her work as communications director for the state Treasurer.  

Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib has called on Kadi to resign from state party leadership.

“The court’s ruling couldn’t be clearer,” Murib said in a statement. “Ms. Kadi’s regular attacks against Democrats are a violation of the Colorado Democratic Party’s code of conduct, and are made worse by the fact that the court discredited this specific and serious attack against Rep. Herod on ‘100 percent of the facts,’ and says that it ‘defies common sense.’ I think it’s appropriate that Ms. Kadi resign from her official role in the Democratic Party.”

Kadi previously criticized Murib and noted he supported Herod during last year’s Denver mayor’s race in which Herod was a candidate.