Thomas Markle Named In Restraining Order Request After Allegedly Threatening Tabloid King!

Thomas Markle is back in the news for all the wrong reasons.

According to a new report, Meghan Markle‘s estranged father is facing a restraining order from a major tabloid news agency executive following an alleged threat made against the man.

On Tuesday, TMZ reported Thomas is the subject of a restraining order request made by Jeff Rayner. Per the outlet, Rayner — who is the co-owner of the tabloid news org Coleman-Rayner — is “scared of what Markle might do” after the older man allegedly threatened him in an unsettling quote published in a recent book.

The feud between Rayner and Markle goes back to last year. As Perezcious readers will recall, Thomas sued Coleman-Rayner after claiming an agreement between him and the company over staged photos supposedly soured Thomas’ relationship with Meghan and Prince Harry. That legal battle has been ongoing ever since — and now, things have taken another sordid turn.

The new quote in question is from Tom Boyer‘s recently released book Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between The Windsors. In the work, Thomas is credited with a particularly disturbing quote about Rayner. The outlet reports the 78-year-old man had this to say about the tabloid exec in a word to Boyer:

“I got screwed by Rayner and I’m going to find a way to screw him over before I die. I want to tear him down. If they tell me I’ve got terminal cancer, then I’ll kill him because I have nothing to lose.”

Damn!!!

TMZ reports that the restraining order request on Rayner’s behalf is understandably based on focus for the exec’s safety. In the docs, Rayner reportedly writes that he is concerned for a possible attack — and cites Thomas’ age as well as his “nothing to lose” comment as reason to be particularly alarmed:

“Since he is 78 years old I anticipate he will use a gun or other weapon.”

The tabloid leader further claims in the docs that the thought of Markle trying to seek revenge has caused him “anxiety and stress” in his daily life. Honestly, we can’t even imagine — public threats like the one in the purported book quote (above) are rightfully concerning.

Still, not everybody is as convinced as Rayner about the seriousness of the threat. On Tuesday afternoon, Thomas’ son Thomas Markle Jr. spoke to TMZ about the restraining order attempt. In his comments, the younger Markle slammed the media exec for being so concerned about the situation:

“First of all, Jeff Rayner being threatened by a 78-year-old man who had a heart attack and stroke recently and walks with a cane poses a threat to you — that’s ridiculous and pathetic and embarrassing on your behalf. And on another note, you should file one on me also because I feel the same way as my father feels toward you and your company Coleman-Rayner.”

Wow! That last line is, uhhh, something. Thomas’ son is just straight-up trying to get himself added to that restraining order?? An interesting gambit…

For now, it appears the restraining order’s status still has yet to be decided in court.

[Image via 60 Minutes Australia/YouTube]