Man banned from Brooklyn federal court

August 26, 2013 By Charisma L. Miller, Esq. Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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A Brooklyn federal judge has banned a man from entering the federal courthouse except for purpose of filing court documents.

After a hearing conducted on Aug. 23, it was found that the safety of individuals inside the Brooklyn federal courthouse on Cadman Plaza East was at issue by the presence of Brooklyn resident David Hester-Bey.

Brooklyn Federal Judge Jack Weinstein has banned Hester-Bey from “accosting, stalking, following, or threatening any judge or member of the staff of this court inside or outside of the courthouse.”

Hester-Bey, accused of stalking actress Jennifer Aniston and persistent pro se litigant, has, however, been granted limited access to the court’s library and the clerk’s office to file or obtain court documents relating to the many cases that Hester-Bey has filed against various individuals and entities since 2009.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the ban, Hester-Bey has been accused of shouting “”Why is everyone f—-ng looking at me?” to an intake clerk and in particular posing a threat to Brooklyn Federal Judge Kiyo Matsumoto. Court papers reveal that Hester-Bey would appear in Matsumoto’s courtroom and stare “intently at Judge Matsumoto and her case manager” in an attempt “to interact with the judge and her staff.”

During one incident, he allegedly tried to approach Judge Matsumoto, telling a court officer, “I have something to say to her.” He then later attempted to follow her into an elevator before a court officer stopped him.

Last month, Hester-Bey entered the courthouse with three fixed-blade knives in his computer bag. After being stopped by court officers, Hester-Bey stated that “he did not know it was unlawful to carry the weapons in a federal courthouse,” and that he picked up the knives from his mother’s house because “he needed them to cook.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute because Hester-Bey mentioned the knives to court officers prior to attempting to pass through security.

An evidentiary hearing will be held on Oct. 2 in Weinstein’s courtroom, to determine whether or not there is sufficient evidence to support an extended ban of Hester-Bey’s presence in the Brooklyn federal courthouse.