Aaron Donald has been granted a temporary restraining order against a Los Angeles woman whom the retired NFL star says has been stalking him and his family for several years.
Donald wrote in court documents that the woman, who identified herself as Janelle Anwar, has been sending him unsolicited email and chat messages since 2020 and appears to believe they are married. Anwar, whom Donald said he has never met, even filed a request for divorce with a Los Angeles court last month, claiming they had been married since March 2024. She wrote in the document that she was seeking a ‘settlement’ of $6.5 million in a divorce.
Donald also alleged in court documents Anwar recently sent threatening messages about his family and has previously sent Amazon packages and balloons to his previous home, addressed to his children, all of whom are under the age of 12.
‘Respondent is delusional and I fear that Respondent’s delusions will lead to her attempting to harm me, my wife, my children, and my brother,’ Donald wrote in court documents seeking a temporary restraining order.
A Los Angeles judge granted Donald’s request Tuesday, ordering Anwar to not contact the former Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman and stay at least 100 yards away from him and his family. The judge also scheduled a May 7 court hearing to determine if the restraining order should be extended.
Anwar did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent to one of her alleged email addresses Thursday morning.
Donald, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year, wrote in court records that he has received messages from Anwar – who also identifies herself in messages as ‘aka Red Berry’ – from at least nine different email addresses since 2020. He wrote that he routinely blocked the addresses and ignored the messages, some of which referenced an imaginary relationship between them. On one occasion, she forwarded him an apparent performance review from her employer with the message ‘Hi Hubby, please save. Love you!’
Donald alleged that, over the past few months, ‘the recent messages have become increasingly more alarming and more threatening.’ He wrote that Anwar has CC’d him on cease and desist emails to unknown people, containing erratic references to musical artist Beyonce and Donald’s former coach, Sean McVay. She also attempted to deliver food to his family’s home, which he said is the first such delivery since he moved in 2022.
Donald, 33, recently wrapped up his first year of retirement after stepping away from football in March 2024. He made the Pro Bowl in each of his 10 seasons in the NFL, all of them with the Los Angeles Rams, and is widely believed to be among the best defensive players of his era. He is eligible to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2029.
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @tomschad.bsky.social.