Ex-Fox News star Ed Henry hit with restraining order by Jennifer Eckhart ahead of high-profile sexual assault trial
According to the injunction order, Henry is required to stay at least 500 feet away from Eckhart and her family. Additionally, he has to relinquish any and all firearms and other weapons.
A detective for the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office attempted to serve Henry Thursday at the Boca Raton headquarters for Newsmax, the right-wing network where Henry currently works, but was told that he was currently at Newsmax's offices in New York City. Eckhart has since requested that the injunction be served at Henry's current location.
'The predator who once thought he owned me is about to face the woman who can't be broken—this time, in front of a jury,' Eckhart said in a statement to The Independent. 'Today, I was granted an Order of Protection—not just for myself, but for my family and loved ones being targeted through legal harassment. Survivors should never have to shield their families from the very system meant to protect them. Soon, he—and the institution that protected him—will be forced to reckon with the truth they tried to bury.'
The restraining order, which was spurred by Henry's legal team issuing a subpoena to Eckhart's family to appear as witnesses for the defense in the New York-based trial, also included a bombshell claim by Eckhart that the FBI visited her last year to discuss potential allegations surrounding Henry.
A lawyer for Henry did not respond to questions about the injunction that was granted this week.
'On May 13, 2024, Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation visited my residence as part of an active investigation into sex trafficking allegations against Respondent,' Eckhart wrote in an exhibit attached to the petition for injunction.
According to documents and emails shared with The Independent, two special agents for the bureau's office in West Palm Beach, Florida, were in communication with Eckhart last year about Henry.
'We appreciate your time today and thank you for your patience,' FBI Special Agent Marisa Morris wrote Eckhart on May 13, 2024. 'A criminal case is different than a civil matter in that we will not be able to update you as often as a civil attorney would, and I realize that can be extremely frustrating.'
Morris, who was responding to a message from Eckhart acknowledging the meeting earlier that day, added that 'we take these types of cases very seriously and will update you as much as possible through the process.' The agent concluded the email by telling Eckhart that 'we will review everything and follow up as appropriate.'
In follow-up emails that Eckhart sent Morris and fellow Special Agent Gennady Julien, she summarized much of what had been detailed in her lawsuit, which accuses Henry of raping her and subjecting her to sex trafficking while both were employees at Fox. Henry has vehemently denied the allegations against him, claiming that he only engaged in consensual sex with Eckhart.
Besides sharing publicly available exhibits that have been filed in her civil case, she also provided the names of other women who have filed sworn affidavits testifying that they've also been subjected to harassment and sexual assault by Henry.
Morris would also acknowledge receipt of a June 25, 2024, email in which Eckhart shared a Mediaite article detailing a human resources complaint filed by a female staffer against Henry during his time at Real America's Voice, a fringe conservative news network. The unnamed staffer alleged to RAV that 'through a series of escalating comments, Henry established a 'grooming' relationship with her,' according to Mediaite.
'This article was just published today and brought to my attention about Ed Henry grooming another victim at his former workplace here in Palm Beach County,' Eckhart wrote, prompting Morris to respond: 'Received, thank you!'
The Independent attempted to contact Agents Julien and Morris directly. A response from the Miami division's public affairs officer requesting that all questions regarding any communications with Eckhart be directed to him or the agents' supervisor. 'The FBI has strict procedures governing our employees' interaction with members of the news media,' the public affairs officer added.
'We are aware of your inquiry and interest in the FBI, but as a matter of policy, the FBI does not confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation except in rare circumstances where the public's assistance is requested,' Special Agent Willie Creech responded in a separate email to a series of questions related to Henry, echoing the bureau's standard response to media requests.
The injunction against Henry, which was granted by a judge on Wednesday, was initially filed by Eckhart in response to a subpoena sent to her elderly mother, who also lives in South Florida. The subpoena, which demands Eckhart's mother to appear and testify on June 25 at the Manhattan courthouse where the civil trial is taking place, incorrectly cites Fox News as the defendant in the case – an error Eckhart cites in her petition for the injunction.
'The subpoena my mother received was issued under the misleading header 'Fox News,' despite the fact that this particular litigation is solely between myself and the Respondent, Ed Henry, in his individual and professional capacities,' the petition states. 'This created unnecessary fear and confusion, especially considering the traumatic context, and further demonstrates the coercive and intimidating nature of the Respondent's tactics.'
While Fox News was initially a defendant in Eckhart's lawsuit, as she claimed the network downplayed the severity of the risk Henry posed to female employees and retaliated against her by firing her in June 2020 after she complained about a hostile work environment, Fox News was dismissed from the case in March.
'The caption for the case is Eckhart v. Fox News Network, LLC et al., 20-cv-5593,' Henry's attorney Eden Quainton told The Independent. 'Jennifer should have understood this because she has recently made filings herself with this caption. I encourage you to look up the case on PACER.'
Quainton did not respond to additional questions regarding the granting of the injunction or the claims made by Eckhart about the FBI's visit.
In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams said there was 'no direct evidence that Fox News was aware of Henry's alleged harassment of Eckhart before it occurred.' Additionally, Abrams agreed with Fox's legal team that 'no reasonable jury' would find the network liable for preventing 'Henry from harming Eckhart.'
'We are pleased with the court's decision to dismiss FOX News from this case, which speaks for itself. Upon learning of Jennifer Eckhart's allegations in 2020, FOX News promptly conducted an investigation by an outside independent law firm and terminated Ed Henry within six days,' a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement. 'Discovery in this matter confirmed that FOX News was not aware of their relationship or of Ms. Eckhart's allegations until after she left the company. The only people who know what happened between Mr. Henry and Ms. Eckhart are the two of them.'
Eckhart also reiterates many of the accusations she had raised in her lawsuit against Henry – such as claims that he sex trafficked and 'violently raped' her – to assert that Henry has a 'documented history of harassment, stalking and repeated threats to physically punish' her as part of an 'ongoing campaign of retaliation.'
Additionally, she cites a pretrial motion filed by her lawyers on May 12, which sought to deny Henry's efforts to subpoena her mother and personal acquaintances, claiming it is 'purportedly because they will testify that Ms. Eckhart did not tell them that Mr. Henry raped her prior to her termination from FNN.' Eckhart's legal team argued that this was tantamount to 'harassment and intimidation' on Henry's part due to the 'risk of unfair prejudice.'
'[T]he Respondent subpoenaed my elderly mother, who has zero involvement in my ongoing federal rape lawsuit, as a means of harassment and emotional manipulation,' the petition states. 'He has also made legal threats to subpoena my ex-boyfriends and best friends – individuals with no bearing on the case – as part of an apparent campaign to punish and isolate me.'
Eckhart also argues in the petition for injunction that she lives in a 'constant state of anxiety and fear' for her personal and physical safety, adding that she's been 'diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the Respondent's past acts of rape and sex trafficking.' She adds that Henry's 'recent efforts to destabilize' her are 'inflicting deep psychological harm' and have impacted her ability to prepare for the trial.
Other than lawful communication between her and Henry's legal counsels, the Florida court granted Eckhart's request that prohibits Henry from contacting her and her family, and keeps him at least 500 feet away from her except for during the upcoming legal proceedings in New York.
According to the granted injunction, Henry and Eckhart will be scheduled to appear and testify before Judge Laura Burkhart on June 12 to discuss whether the court will make the injunction permanent.
In her lawsuit against Henry, Eckhart alleges that the former Fox News anchor 'groomed, psychologically manipulated and coerced' her into a sexual relationship while referring to her as his personal 'sex slave.' Eventually, after she 'would not comply voluntarily' with his sexual demands, she claims he violently raped her in 2017.
In a motion filed last fall in the case, her attorney Michael Willemin laid out a series of new allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct against Henry, including accusations that he sexually assaulted a second woman during his time at Fox News. Following those revelations, current and former colleagues of Henry's told The Independent that they didn't understand how he was able to continue to find employment in the media industry.
'Ed Henry being in Florida has him out of sight, out of mind most of the time,' one Newsmax employee said at the time. 'However, after that most recent court filing, some people are wondering: how the hell does this guy have a job?'
Meanwhile, a year after exiting Fox Business, Eckhart launched the interview podcast series Reinvented, which focuses on conversations with 'people who have overcome serious obstacles on their path to success.' She's sat down with multiple celebrities over the years, including a newsmaking interview with Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, who revealed he discusses his childhood trauma with his young kids.
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