Tim Cook's Alleged Stalker Believed to Be in California, Armed

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been granted a restraining order against a woman accused of stalking him—and whom Apple believes is currently somewhere in Silicon Valley, armed. The 45-year-old Virginia woman has allegedly sent Cook threatening emails including pictures of a loaded gun and threats to burn down his Palo Alto home, the Mercury News reports. She also allegedly trespassed at that home twice, and Apple believes she plans to go back or otherwise find Cook somewhere, NPR reports. A judge barred the woman from owning a gun or ammunition, interacting with Cook or any other Apple employees, or entering Apple properties. If she violates the order, she could be jailed and fined.

In late 2020, the woman started claiming on Twitter that she was married to Cook and he was the father of her twins, Apple says. She has since emailed him more than 200 times, with the tone "escalating" to the point that it became "highly disturbing," the company says. In one email, she allegedly said her sexual desire for Cook had her almost out of patience; in another, she applied to be his roommate; recently, the emails have demanded hundreds of millions of dollars and ordered Cook to move. She also allegedly registered multiple fake corporations listing Cook as some sort of executive, some of the companies having "highly offensive" names. (Cook also once got a restraining order against a man.)