Father, Son Arrested for Harassing Palin Family

By Dave Warner

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania father and son were arrested Thursday on charges they made harassing phone calls to the family of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and her attorneys, an FBI spokesman said.

The arrest of Craig Christy, 47, and his son Shawn,19, of McAdoo, Pennsylvania, came a day after they were charged in a federal indictment filed in Alaska with making the harassing phone calls from August 1 to August 9.

The calls were placed after Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, obtained a restraining order against the two men over what she said was harassment.

The pair made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Allentown, Pennsylvania, following their arrest, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Retta-Rae Randall.

No bail was set during the hearing and the two men will be transported to Anchorage, Alaska, for further proceedings, Randall said.

An Alaska state court issued a restraining order against Shawn Christy in September 2010, ordering him to have no contact with Palin. In May, a court renewed that and issued a similar order against his father, Craig.

Shawn Christy has previously admitted in court to having threatened to rape Palin, sending her numerous e-mails and gifts, and traveling to Anchorage earlier this year.

Craig Christy admitted making more than two dozen early morning phone calls to Palin's parents over a two-day period in March.

In the indictment, the two men are accused of causing the "telephone of another repeatedly and continuously to ring, with the intent to harass a person at the called number." (Additional reporting by Yereth Rosen; Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Cynthia Johnston)