The wife of Mayor Cherelle Parker’s former campaign spokesperson has withdrawn her restraining order request against him
Mustafa Rashed is a prominent City Hall lobbyist who owns the firm Bellevue Strategies. He was Mayor Cherelle Parker's campaign spokesperson until this summer.
The wife of prominent City Hall lobbyist Mustafa Rashed, who until recently was Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s campaign spokesperson, has withdrawn her request for a protection-from-abuse order against him three months after accusing him of physically assaulting her.
In late June, Rashed’s wife said he struck her in the face and “swung me across the room,” injuring her back, during an incident in the couple’s Brewerytown home, according to a temporary protective order, more commonly known as a restraining order, granted by a judge days after the alleged incident. Rashed has denied the allegations.
At a hearing in Philadelphia’s Family Court on Monday, scheduled to determine whether a permanent order was needed, Rashed’s wife said she was withdrawing her request. She agreed to let the case be vacated “with prejudice,” meaning she cannot ask for a protective order in the future based on the same incident.
She did not elaborate in court and declined to comment after the hearing. The Inquirer is withholding her name due to the nature of the allegations. The couple is in divorce proceedings.
» READ MORE: Mayor Parker has suspended her campaign spokesperson over domestic violence allegations
Rashed’s attorney Nick Liermann said the “decision is final and is not subject to further inquiry.”
“Rashed is incredibly thankful for all the people who know him, know the truth, and stood by him. Now that this private ordeal is over, he looks forward to continuing to raise his boys and getting back to work,” Liermann said in a statement.
A criminal investigation into the matter remains open, and no arrests have been made. Philadelphia police declined to discuss specifics of the investigation. It’s unclear how the withdrawal of the PFA could affect the case.
“Our understanding is that there is no active investigation, and my client has never been interviewed,” Liermann said.
Parker in late August said through a spokesperson that she was “dismayed to learn about these allegations.” Parker then said that neither Rashed nor his firm, Bellevue Strategies, would work with her campaign “while this matter is pending within our judicial system.”
The Parker campaign did not respond to requests for comment.