WILKES-BARRE — A three-year protection-from abuse order was granted against the husband of a Wilkes-Barre council member on Thursday.
Luzerne County Judge Tarah C. Toohil granted the PFA order for Beth Gilbert McBride against her estranged husband, Joseph McBride.
The PFA expires March 16, 2026, and prohibits Joseph McBride from having contact with Gilbert McBride.
The Times Leader normally does not cover PFA cases unless they involve a public figure. In addition to her elected position, Gilbert McBride serves as Luzerne County’s deputy election director.
Gilbert McBride filed a petition for a PFA on March 8 claiming that since Feb. 9, Joseph McBride’s behavior had become more erratic and physical when he becomes intoxicated, and that he had to be removed from her Wilkes-Barre home by her mother. While Joseph McBride has been residing with his father, Gilbert McBride wrote that her husband had been stalking her location, took over the security system for her house and had been constantly calling and texting her.
Gilbert McBride further wrote in the petition that Joseph McBride threatened to blackmail her in the media and crashed his vehicle into her mother’s house.
No criminal charges have been filed against Joseph McBride related to the allegations Gilbert McBride listed in her PFA petition.