YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – A U.S. District Court judge denied Trumbull County Commissioner Niki Frenchko’s request for a temporary restraining order in her civil rights case.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division by attorneys David Betras and Matt Miller-Novak of Cincinnati.

The lawsuit stems from Frenchko’s arrest in July.

The lawsuit claims Frenchko’s First, Fourth and 14th Amendments rights were violated by “a ruthless false arrest intended to punish a political adversary for criticizing the County Sheriff.”

Frenchko was arrested during a county commissioners’ meeting on July 7 while responding to a letter written by Trumbull County Sheriff Paul Monroe, read by a clerk during the meeting.

In the letter, Monroe asked Frenchko for a public apology in response to an email she read in a meeting in early June.

The lawsuit alleges that Sheriff Monroe violated Frenchko’s rights during an open public meeting and abused his police power to intimidate her.

For his part, Sheriff Paul Monroe says he agrees with his deputies’ actions and said a county employee had been put under emotional distress due to Frenchko’s actions at the time.

The misdemeanor charge of disturbing a public meeting was dismissed in Warren Municipal Court in August.

Frenchko had asked the court for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, instructing the defendants named in the lawsuit from destroying records, seizing her property and interfering with her right to record public meetings. The memorandum in support of the request points to not only her arrest but also an incident where she claims Monroe seized her phone during a meeting because she was recording it.

The judge denied that request on Tuesday due to the defendants not yet receiving the proper paperwork. The defendants did not appear in court Tuesday. Once they receive that paperwork, an in-person meeting will be held with all parties and their counsel.