Reno, Nevada, Mayor Hillary Schieve, an independent, sued a private investigator after discovering a GPS tracking device on her vehicle.
The lawsuit, filed last week, alleges that the investigator trespassed onto her property to install the device without the mayor’s consent. She claims she was unaware it was attached to her vehicle until it was discovered by a mechanic.
“The tracking and surveillance of Schieve caused her, as it would cause any reasonable person, significant fear and distress,” the lawsuit reads.
“In a time of heightened political tumult, the recent revelation of Defendants’ actions still managed to shock the conscience,” the complaint added.
The lawsuit named David McNeely as the private investigator and 5 Alpha Industries as the company involved. McNeely reportedly worked on behalf of an unnamed third party.
The suit was filed in Washoe County’s Second Judicial Court. The mayor is seeking restitution for invasion of privacy, trespassing, civil conspiracy, negligence, and attorneys’ costs to the amount of $15,000. It also aims to discover the identity of the third party that allegedly hired the company to track her.
Schieve was re-elected last month to her third term as mayor, leading the city since 2014.
In a statement released to 2 News Reno, the mayor noted that the discovery was made before the November election.
“Before the election, I found out that someone had been stalking me. A high-end GPS tracker was discovered on my personal vehicle. I went immediately to Sparks PD to investigate,” Schieve wrote.
“I am publicly announcing this now, and did not make any public statements at the time when it was discovered, to make clear that this is about one thing, and one thing only: it is not ok to stalk people. We have good reason to believe that other members of our community were stalked with this same GPS device. This is about standing up to the rampant harassment of our civil servants and community leaders, and saying, this is NOT ok,” she added.
The statement also vowed to fight back against those involved.
“I truly cannot believe how ugly certain people have made our public discourse, and I will do everything in my power to push back. I am proud to have run a Clean Campaign, and I am also proud to be the one to take a stand with this lawsuit to say that stalking people is wrong.”
Schieve, who won her re-election by about 16,000 votes over independent Eddie Lorton, secured 59% of the votes. She previously served as an at-large council member before becoming mayor eight years ago.