Sean Longoria

Gannett

REDDING, Calif. — Joshua Brown just won’t keep quiet.

The 13-year-old Redding boy, who two months ago along with his parents received a cease-and-desist letter to try to get them to stop contacting Rep. Doug LaMalfa's offices, said Monday afternoon he intends to defy that order.

“LaMalfa wronged me, I think what he did was probably unconstitutional. I have every right to contact him as one of his constituents,” Joshua said while standing beside his dad, Robert Brown, and attorney Ryan Birss of Berg and Associates in Redding.

At issue is Joshua’s repeated contact with LaMalfa’s office in Redding and employees there.

The controversy began when the Browns were told in an Aug. 9 letter from LaMalfa's office to stop "all verbal communication, emails, text messages and office visits." Any other contact would be "deemed harassment" and reported to the U.S. Capitol Police, the letter went on to say.

All further communication must be in writing through LaMalfa's Washington, D.C., office, wrote Mark Spannagel, LaMalfa's chief of staff.

More: Read the cease and desist letter

Spannagel himself has declined to go into detail on the issue but has said, “the extreme volume, tone and physical actions” of the Browns led to the letter.

Spannagel said in a statement on Monday regarding the Browns saying they plan to again contact the office beyond writing a letter: “Congressman LaMalfa welcomes all communication from our constituents, it’s our job. However, the Brown parents and son’s activities rose to a level that caused Capitol Police to conduct a full threat assessment. At the conclusion of that assessment a recommendation was made and a letter sent asking that they make all further communications in writing to the Congressional office in Washington, D.C., for the safety of staff and other constituents.

“The U.S. House of Representatives and this office take seriously the security and safety of staff and our constituents. Issuing a letter of this sort is not done lightly, is done rarely, and only comes after direction is given from Capitol Police.”

The Browns don’t dispute they’ve called the office several times and Joshua takes credit for the bulk of those calls and emails, including calls to the cellphone of Erin Ryan, LaMalfa's field representative. Robert Brown and his son are politically active in progressive causes and contact LaMalfa's offices to voice disagreement with the Republican congressman's votes and policies.

But they and Birss are clear in their interpretation of the issue: Joshua and his parents are merely exercising their First Amendment rights and have made no physical or other threats on LaMalfa or his staff.

“I really couldn’t figure that one out, why exactly they sent me the cease-and-desist order,” Joshua said. “As they should’ve for the letter to even somewhat legally bind, they didn’t explain it on the cease-and-desist letter. All they said was that they wanted me to stop contacting them. They didn’t give me an example — and I said this in my response to them — they didn’t give me an example of a time in which I’d threatened them or harassed them and I don’t think that they can. And I searched through every record I have, nothing.”

By his own words, Joshua had already violated the order in a letter last month demanding an apology from LaMalfa. But that letter and other attempts to reach the Republican congressman through a form on LaMalfa’s website so far have gone unanswered.

“We have not heard from the Capitol Police, we have not heard from LaMalfa’s office at all,” Birss said. “We look forward to finding out if we’re going to hear anything once Josh decides to contact the congressman again.”

Follow Sean Longoria on Twitter: @seanlongoria_RS

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