In March 2025, Mindy Willens filed for a civil harassment restraining order against Anthony Robert D'Amato Jr. — a man who, according to court filings, had spent hours on livestream making death-coded threats, weaponizing the death of her sister, and directing his audience to intimidate her. California law promises a hearing within 21 days. It took over a year.

In this episode, we trace the full timeline of Willens v. D'Amato — from the first continuance to a subpoena demanding her entire YouTube watch history, a hospital excuse for missing court and arrest warrant, and a final settlement that — despite its unconventional form — represents a hard-won and strategically sophisticated outcome.

We also break down why the judge struck some of the enforcement provisions from the signed agreement, attempting to clarify misinformation about the agreement.

Treatment instead of trial. A sealed record if you comply. It's California's most empathetic criminal justice law — and possibly its most exploitable one. We investigate who it's helping, who's gaming it, and whether AB 46 can fix it.

On March 11, 2026, ZeroDarkTony revived a familiar threat: subpoenas to unmask anonymous critics. He framed it as his “Sixth Amendment right” and claimed only guilty people would fear it. But the courts already tested that theory. In this episode of Hero Not Zero, Zoey and Cody rewind to the 2025 subpoena battle in Willens v. D’Amato, where sweeping information demands targeted non-party commentators and ZDT critics including Dodge Landesman, True Crime with Nora, Scientology Audit and HeroLightCody. With Mindy Willens and attorney Merritt McKeon pushing back, a motion to quash turned into a legal woodchipper—chewing up the subpoenas, exposing Tony’s own livestream threats, and ending in sanctions for ZDT's attorney Steven Tamer.