School board Vice President Auon’tai Anderson obtains restraining order against Denver Public Schools critic

Denver school board Vice President Auon’tai Anderson has obtained a restraining order and filed a criminal complaint against vocal district critic Brandon Pryor, who recently won a court victory overturning Denver Public Schools’ efforts to bar him from district property.

Both men agree they had an argument Friday morning about Anderson’s December vote to move the school Pryor founded, Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy, from its current location to a former elementary school miles away from the Far Northeast community it serves. But their accounts of what happened differ.

In an affidavit filed with Denver County Court and in an interview with Chalkbeat, Anderson said Pryor swore at him, used abusive language, and threatened him in his place of employment. Pryor said he works in the same building and stops by regularly. He said the affidavit is a lie, that he never threatened anyone, and that Anderson swore at him first.

Anderson also filed a municipal criminal complaint against Pryor on Monday. A Denver Police Department spokesman declined to release a police report on the incident, citing an open investigation.