Tom Cruise gets restraining order
POSTED 12-12-2008 Tweet
judge has ordered an Iraq war veteran to stay away from Tom Cruise, after the man brandished a gun near a freeway and weeks later tried to hand-deliver a letter to the actor, attorneys said on Thursday.
Edward Van Tassel, 29, wanted to get the letter in Cruise's hands to enlist him in the cause of helping other veterans, said the former soldier's attorney, Robert Landheer.
Bert Fields, an attorney for Cruise, said the actor did not ask for the restraining order.
"Tom didn't even know about it, and the judge did the right thing -- you've got to respect the judge for it. But it was not something Tom applied for," Fields said.
Authorities arrested Van Tassel last month on weapons charges after an incident near Santa Barbara, northwest of Los Angeles, in which he stood on a freeway overpass with a gun and a sign in what his attorney described as a protest.