A Massachusetts prosecutor has asked a judge to jail Robert F. Hyde, a Simsbury man tied to an apparent surveillance operation of Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.
In the Massachusetts case, pending in District Court in Malden and unrelated to the Ukraine controversy, Hyde is accused of violating a protective order issued by a judge in Washington, D.C. on behalf of a political consultant with whom Hyde worked. The woman obtained a civil order of protection against Hyde, 40, last summer after a judge found that Hyde harassed and stalked the woman, called and texted her relatives and clients with disparaging comments, and tried to blackmail her, according to court records.
Hyde, a Republican candidate for Connecticut’s 5th congressional district who lives in Simsbury, is facing national scrutiny following the release of documents by House Democrats this week which linked him to Yovanovitch and an alleged campaign to harass and threaten her.
He is free on a personal recognizance bond in the violation of a protective order case.
The Courant is not naming the woman because she fears for her safety.
Hyde was in court Thursday for a routine appearance and a prosecutor made a verbal motion to revoke his bail for violating the conditions of his release, which include having no contact with the woman, according to court records. The judge did not act on the request and continued Hyde’s case to March 6.
Late Friday afternoon, Hyde spoke to the Courant and declined to comment about his the protective order.
If the judge determines Hyde violated the conditions of his release and his bond is revoked, he could be jailed. Violation of an abuse prevention order is a misdemeanor in Massachusetts and is punishable by up to 2.5 years in jail.
On July 28, 2019, the woman’s husband received a call from an unidentified person who referenced Hyde, according to a police report. When the woman’s husband put the call on speakerphone so she could hear what was being said, the woman recognized Hyde’s voice. Hyde was telling the caller what to say, according to the police report. About a week later, the husband received a text message referencing Hyde.
According to a police report, the woman, who lives in Massachusetts and works frequently in Washington, D.C., has also received six phone calls from a phone number with an 860 area code.
Hyde’s lawyer, Thomas P. Polito, did not respond to a request for comment.
Hyde worked as an independent contractor for the woman’s political consulting firm for a few weeks in the fall of 2018. But she fired him due to his “subpar performance” and complaints from two of her female employees of Hyde’s “inappropriate behavior and advances,” according to court documents.
From December 2018 through the summer of 2019, Hyde continually harassed the woman, sending “various forms of social media, text messages, and e-mails” to her, “with the intent of instilling fear,” according to court documents. He also “kept close tabs” on her “personal and professional whereabouts,” and would “surprise her with unsettling visits” at businesses functions.
As a result, the woman “became a dysfunctional disaster” and suffered “extreme and prolonged fear, harm, and continued emotional distress,” according to court documents.
The woman obtained a protection order against Hyde last summer, which led Simsbury police to remove six firearms and more than 800 rounds of ammunition from his home, according to a police report. The protection order expires on July 30.
Last March, Hyde appeared to send updates about Yovanovitch’s location to Lev Parnas, an associate of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph Giuliani, through the messaging app WhatsApp.
Authorities in Ukraine have launched an investigation into the alleged conduct of Hyde and Parnas. Rep. Eliot L. Engel, a New York Democrat and chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, called for an investigation Wednesday into what he said, in a statement, were “profoundly alarming” text messages sent by Hyde.
Hyde has remained out of sight this week except for an appearance on a conservative television news program and posts to his Twitter account.
In a video of himself he posted to his Twitter account Friday Hyde maintained that he had “no ties to Ukraine.”
“Are you kidding? Like I have anybody over in the Ukraine, are you serious?” he said. “I’m a landscaper from Simsbury, Connecticut that was trying to get into the … lobbying world.”
Eliza Fawcett can be reached at elfawcett@courant.com
David Owens can be reached at dowens@courant.com.
Courant Staff Writer Christopher Keating contributed to this story.
