WARREN — A Trumbull County magistrate denied a civil stalking protection order requested by Trumbull County Republican Party Secretary Marleah Campbell against Niki Frenchko, with the judge citing insufficient evidence to justify an emergency order.

As part of an ex-parte hearing, only Campbell was permitted at the hearing to present her case to Magistrate Judge Michael Harlan.

The case, filed in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, will proceed to a full hearing scheduled for Feb. 28.

According to court documents, Campbell filed a petition for a stalking civil protection order alleging that Frenchko engaged in combative and abusive behavior during two separate incidents at the Trumbull County GOP headquarters.

The petition claims that on Feb. 1, Frenchko became verbally abusive during a recruitment committee meeting, forcing the meeting to end abruptly.

A second incident alleged by Campbell occurred on Feb. 4, and involved Frenchko throwing “two large lemons” at Campbell, one of which struck her in the chest, after becoming angry during a discussion about a motion.

Harlan, in his ruling, stated the petition did not meet the legal threshold for an ex-parte order, which is typically granted in emergency situations where immediate protection is deemed necessary. However, he referred the matter for a full hearing to allow both parties to present evidence and testimony.

Campbell declined to comment on the decision.

“(Marleah) Campbell often alleges things that are untrue and last time it was proven to be false by elected officials and the party’s executive committee,” Frenchko said, referencing when the Republican Party executive committee rescinded a censure of her after party chairman Julia Shutt was elected in December.

“The only thing Marleah Campbell is afraid of is people with integrity, morals and work ethic criticizing her refusal to follow the GOP bylaws and correcting her errors. And what’s worse — this is a judge’s wife wasting taxpayer and court resources at a time the county is having difficulty balancing the budget.”

Campbell is the wife of Eastern District Court Judge Thomas Campbell. She also is a member of the Trumbull County Board of Elections.