NILES — Resident and former mayoral candidate George Kuriatnyk was barred from entering Wednesday night’s city council meeting after police served him with a temporary civil stalking protection order prohibiting him from being within 500 feet of Mayor Steve Mientkiewicz.

According to Niles police Chief Jay Holland, the temporary protection order request was signed Wednesday afternoon by Trumbull County Common Pleas Magistrate Patrick McCarthy.

Holland said the magistrate issued an “emergency order” that prohibits Kuriatnyk from being within 500 feet of Mientkiewicz or attempting to contact him until a hearing takes place later this month.

“He has a right to come and present his testimony evidence, the mayor has the right to come and present his testimony evidence and then the magistrate will determine whether it will be a permanent order, and if he does it’s five years,” Holland said.

According to Mientkiewicz’s civil protection order petition, at two separate council meetings over the last 18 months, Kuriatnyk went into a “menacing stance” against the mayor, attempting to spur a “physical altercation.”

The documents from the Trumbull County Clerk of Courts office also note that Kuriatnyk recently sent a text message to a member of city council indicating physical threats and that he planned to “take people out” and “eat the last bullet,” according to the documents.

At council’s March 20 meeting, Kuriatnyk was visibly distraught during citizen’s comments, and the court documents claim that he made direct threats to Mientkiewicz, indicating there would be “consequences for his actions,” and that Kuriatnyk would “die for his family” and “take people with him.” Kuriatnyk also reportedly said law enforcement would not be able to stop him.

CouncilPresident Pro Tempore Doug Sollitto, D-at-Large, said the general rule council follows is that if an individual is disrupting the meeting, a council member will give that person a warning. Sollitto said council is typically lenient and will provide a second warning as well.

“If it’s a direct threat, which we don’t get those too often, but if it’s a direct threat we’ll just have the police escort them out,” he said. “We give them a warning and then a second one to go sit down. If that doesn’t work, then we’ll have them escorted off the premises.”

According to documents, Kuriatnyk cannot be at Mientkiewicz’s residence or place of work; he cannot remove or damage any of the mayor’s property; he cannot use any electronic surveillance devices on the mayor; he cannot encourage any other individual to do anything against Mientkiewicz; and Kuriatnyk is prohibited from carrying or using a deadly weapon.

Mientkiewicz declined to comment on the matter.

Kuriatnyk called Mientkiewicz’s protection order a “personal vendetta” against him and that it is an attempt to silence him.

“That’s what it is, everyone knows that,” he said.

Kuriatnyk also claimed that Mientkiewicz recently approached city council, asking for the members to vote to ban him from the meetings for five years.

Asked if council has been approached by Mientkiewicz with such a request, city Law Director Phil Zuzolo said “the mayor did not do that, no.”

Zuzolo said he does not believe such a request by the mayor would be legal.

Kuriatnyk frequently addresses council and the administration during public remarks.

He also has run for public office in Niles several times, most recently when he attempted to unseat Mientkiewicz during the 2023 general election.

According to official results, Kuriatnyk received 26% of the vote while Mientkiewicz received 74% of the vote.

Kuriatnyk also received write-in votes for a council at-large seat in 2019, but did not win..

A full hearing will be held in front of McCarthy at 9:30 a.m. April 17 at the Trumbull County Courthouse.

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