A judge in Dakota County upheld the Harassment Restraining Order (HRO) granted against Diane Ristau by Michael Brodkorb and Sarah Brodkorb for Ristau’s involvement in surreptitiously obtaining and later distributing a photograph of Michael Brodkorb’s wife and minor children.
At the end of the three-hour court hearing at the Dakota County Western Service Center in Apple Valley, Minnesota, Judge M. Michael Baxter said Ristau was involved in a “conspiracy to commit harassment” when she took a picture of Ms. Brodkorb and her minor children while shopping and later distributed the picture to people connected to Sandra Grazzini-Rucki and Dede Evavold.
The photograph of Ms. Brodkorb with her minor children was distributed multiple times with false allegations on a social media account connected to Sandra Grazzini-Rucki and her supporters. The same social media account had been investigated by law enforcement for publishing threatening, harassing, and defamatory statements targeting judges, law enforcement, court staff, and journalists.
The HRO against Ristau remains in effect until September 25, 2020.
Beaudette caught lying about her connection to Grazzini-Rucki, admits she gave pictures to Angela Young
During the court hearing, it was disclosed Ristau took multiple photographs of Ms. Brodkorb and her minor children and provided information to people connected to Grazzini-Rucki and Evavold on the exact location of where the pictures were taken.
Carrie Beaudette, who received the photographs from Ms. Ristau, was subpoenaed to testify on Ms. Ristau’s behalf. During Beaudette’s testimony, she falsely claimed she had never been involved in Grazzini-Rucki’s legal cases. When Nathan Hansen, attorney for the Brodkorbs, showed Beaudette an affidavit signed by Beaudette involving one of Grazzini-Rucki’s legal case she then admitted helping Grazzini-Rucki while she was living with Angela Young in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Young is Evavold’s next door neighbor.
Beaudette also admitted that shared the pictures taken of Ms. Brodkorb and her minor children with both Dede Evavold and Angela Young. Beaudette said she had not told police about Young’s involvement when she spoke with them in August about the pictures.
