GOP candidate arrested in SF for allegedly stalking Nancy Pelosi challenger

Omar Navarro at Politicon at Pasadena Convention Center on July 29, 2017 in Pasadena, California. Omar Navarro at Politicon at Pasadena Convention Center on July 29, 2017 in Pasadena, California. Photo: John Sciulli/Getty Images For Politicon Photo: John Sciulli/Getty Images For Politicon Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close GOP candidate arrested in SF for allegedly stalking Nancy Pelosi challenger 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A Trump-loving Republican candidate known for his two unsuccessful attempts at unseating Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) was arrested and booked in San Francisco on three felony charges Sunday.

Omar Navarro was charged with alleged extortion, criminal threats, stalking and violation of a restraining order against his ex-girlfriend DeAnna Lorraine Tesoriero, a congressional candidate running against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), according to the San Francisco Police Department.

Navarro, 30, has become a boisterous voice for the far-right, frequently appearing on Fox News during his 2016 and 2018 campaigns. Now, he's running again in 2020 despite his failed bids for the Democratic-heavy Southern California district stretching between Westchester to Torrance. In 2018, Navarro tallied 22% of the vote in the general election against incumbent Waters.

Navarro has had two restraining orders against him by Tesoriero; the most recent was a five-year order issued in August. Judge Gia Bosley cited the congressional candidates history of "harassing and stalking" his former girlfriend as the reason, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Tesoriero is former relationship counselor turned conservative political commentator. She authored the book "Making Love Great Again: The New Road to Reviving Romance and Winning at Relationships" in 2018 and hosts the show "Winning the Culture War." For her 2020 campaign, she has dropped her last name and is running as DeAnna Lorraine.

SFPD responded to a complaint of the restraining order violation at 2 a.m. Sunday in the 1400 block of 47th Avenue, and located Navarro.

Tesoriero told the Daily Beast that she spotted Navarro outside her apartment and then received a text from an unknown number reading, “Bitch, I came to see you.”

“Clearly, he has a lot of screws loose,” she told the Daily Beast. “I think a lot of this power has gotten into his head. He has a lot of money now from campaign donations.”

Conservative radio hosts Alex Jones and Larry Elder and "The War Room" host Owen Shroyer have endorsed Navarro's 2020 run, according to the Navarro for Congress website. He has raised over $1 million, according to the Daily Beast.

Amy Graff is a digital editor for SFGATE. Email her at agraff@sfgate.com.