Tony Stewart is at the heart of another legal matter, though this one isn’t pertaining to the 2014 accident that resulted in the death of Kevin Ward.
Kathi Russell, 68, was arrested Tuesday and charged with stalking, terroristic mischief and intimidation for allegedly harassing Stewart and members of his family, according to RTV6. The Cape Coral, Fla., native was being held in Lee County Jail in Florida as of 7:30 p.m. ET while she awaited extradition to Indiana.
Her crusade reportedly began after she failed to get the former NASCAR driver’s autograph at a race.
“Ms. Russell stated she repeatedly tried to get Mr. Stewart’s attention and get him to sign an item of racing memorabilia, but Mr. Stewart ignored Ms. Russell’s attempts and Ms. Russell state she felt like she was ignored,” an affidavit filed with the charges reads.
Russell is accused, among other things, of making 333 anonymous calls from six different phone numbers to Stewart, his mother and sister spanning from March 2016 to October. She reportedly sometimes would not say anything during those calls, play “Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads or play a soundbite of Hillary Clinton saying “we came, we saw, he died” — of former Lybian dictator Muammar Gaddafi — along with villainous cackling.
Investigators also found that Russell called in a false anonymous tip that a plane flying into Fort Worth, Texas, would have drugs onboard. Stewart was on the plane in question.
Perhaps the most bizarre allegation against Russell is that she sent an envelope containing an unknown white powder — determined to be baking soda — to Indianapolis law firm Ice Miller LLP on Sept. 27. Law enforcement was able to trace the anthrax scare back to Russell with relative ease, as she used the same envelope in which Ice Miller sent her a notice that she violated the protection order Stewart’s mother had against her.
The Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner’s spokesperson told RTV6 that he wants to “let the legal process run its course” before commenting on the case.
