Sonoma County says Santa Rosa man threatened Supervisor James Gore

Attorneys for Sonoma County secured a temporary restraining order against a local man they say made a credible threat of violence to Supervisor James Gore and his family at the Board of Supervisors’ April 19 meeting.

The subject of the order, Shelby Pryor — he also has gone by Shelby Dodson, the last name referenced in the document — has been a vocal opponent of local vaccination mandates, a cause he and his girlfriend, Adina Flores, have turned into a broader feud with elected officials over the past few months.

The pair are regular commenters at supervisors meetings, and Flores makes frequent email requests to county staff for information and verification pertaining to health orders.

Pryor crossed a line at the most recent board meeting, Gore said in a declaration in support of the petition for a restraining order.

“Gore, Gore, come out here and fight me,” Pryor shouted, according to Gore’s account. “Bring your fists, I’ll take you down. Bring a gun if you want … Oh, yeah, I know how to use guns better than you, too, and will take you out. … I’m going to get you.”

Pryor, 38, also referred to Gore’s wife, Elizabeth, with a crude slur and invited the supervisor’s son to join the fight, Gore said in the declaration. The boy is 7 years old.

“I will follow you around everywhere you go,” Gore recalled Pryor saying. “I will shut you down. I will be everywhere you go. You better be ready.”

Monday, Gore directed a reporter to his written declaration but offered a brief reflection on the incident.

“Unfortunately, I’m used to having angst, vitriol and outrage be a part of my life, especially as Chair of the Board of Supervisors,” he said. “I’ve been accused of everything under the sun. But I have not had a situation ever where I felt there was a credible threat to my safety, and that of my kids.”

The county filed a petition for the temporary workplace violence restraining order Thursday morning, and it was granted that afternoon, said Deputy County Counsel Josh Myers. Sheriff’s deputies served Pryor with the order Saturday.

Under terms of the order, Pryor must stay at least 10 yards away from Gore and his family members (he also has a young daughter), their residence and vehicles, and the children’s schools. However, county officials made it clear that Pryor is still invited to public meetings, as long as he conducts himself in “a peaceful and professional manner.”

The restraining order does not apply to Flores.

The county will next seek to make the restraining order against Pryor permanent. A court date is scheduled for May 10. A spokeswoman for the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said the department is not currently pursuing criminal charges.

Reached by phone Monday, Pryor acknowledged that he reacted angrily at the supervisors meeting, but insisted he is no danger to Gore or the people around him.

“My apologies to Mr. Gore, 100%,” Pryor said. “I didn’t want him to feel that I would really (bleep) him up. I wish no ill will toward this man. I just want him to admit he (bleeped) up. And fix it.”

Pryor said he believed Gore had adult children, and wouldn’t have mentioned the son had he known he was referring to a child. Pryor also questioned the county’s concern over gun violence, noting that when asked “Did the respondent use or threaten to use a gun or any other weapon?” on the restraining order petition, the petitioner checked NO.

The April 19 fireworks came at the tail end of a typically grueling, nearly eight-hour meeting among the supervisors. Flores spoke before Pryor during public comment, using her 3 minutes to question county filings with the California Secretary of State, the Gores’ relationship with the family of Gov. Gavin Newsom, and the incorporation of Elizabeth Gore’s organization, Hello Alice.

Pryor followed and immediately announced, “Mr. Gore, you’re a sh*thead who continually goes ahead and takes money from our community.”

Gore asked for Pryor’s microphone to be cut and told him, “If you want to look at me, and cuss at me, you can step outside, sir.”

That, Pryor insisted, is the misunderstanding that led to the restraining order. Gore meant his words as a caution to Pryor to speak in a civil manner or leave the chamber. But Pryor took it as an invitation to fight.

“He says ‘step outside.’ Where I come from, that’s a direct, immediate thing: We’re straight up gonna fight,” said Pryor, who was raised in Vallejo but now lives in Santa Rosa with Flores. “I’m like, you want do this? Let’s go outside and fight. Now I’m mad.”

In addition, when Gore said, “If you want to look at me … ,” Pryor heard it as an order — “Look at me.”

“First, I’m not you’re (bleeping) child,” Pryor said Monday. “Being a Black member of society, having this white man in charge telling me what to do — who the (bleep) do you think you are, and what world do we live in?”

Pryor’s more incendiary comments came not in the supervisors’ chamber, but from the street, where, according to county spokesman Paul Gullixson, he used an amplified speaker to continue his diatribe after two law enforcement officers escorted him from the building. When the supervisors returned from a short recess, Gullixson said, they could hear Pryor from outside.

This is not the first confrontation between Flores, Pryor and county representatives.

On Jan. 5, Gullixson said, they went to the Department of Health Services building and made comments that staff there found threatening enough to warrant a call to the police. No charges were filed, but the county sent a “boundary setting letter” asking Pryor and Flores to stay away from the DHS offices, and not to contact county health officer Dr. Sundari Mase.

On at least a couple occasions, Gullixson added, Pryor showed up at county offices and refused to wear a mask at a time when it was required.

Pryor said he looks forward to being able to state his case in the hearing for a permanent restraining order. And he rejects the idea that he crossed a line of decency.

“I apologize that extreme times call for harsh words,” Pryor said. “But the reality is, we’re not being heard when we talk nice. We’re being dismissed because we don’t have that college education. But we can read.”

Correction: Due to a source error, Shelby Pryor’s last name was misspelled in a previous version of this article. This article has been updated to correct the misspelling.

You can reach Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Skinny_Post.