San Jose City Councilman Bien Doan’s request for a restraining order against a well-connected Vietnamese-American businessman has been denied — the culmination of a trial that exposed political rancor within Little Saigon’s older generation.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Eric Geffon ruled Wednesday that there was insufficient evidence that Hai Huynh — a bail bondsman Doan described as having ties to organized crime — posed a danger to Doan’s safety.
Doan alleged that Huynh had aggressively attacked and threatened her at least three times since he was elected to the San Jose City Council, prompting her to install security cameras and a metal gate at her home. But Geffon doubted any of the incidents were criminal threats or actual fears.
His decision was not based on witness statements or recollections during testimony, but on real evidence — a series of June 2023 text messages between Huynh and Doan in which Huynh warned the councilwoman about a defamation lawsuit.
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June 2023 text messages between Hai Huynh (left) and San Jose Councilman Bien Doan (right).
“This is almost seven months after (Doan) indicated that she was afraid for herself and her family because of the threats she received,” Geffon said of the exchange. “Councilwoman Doan’s response was very clear. She did not act like someone who was afraid. … This is not a situation where the applicant is being cautious.”
Doan declined to comment on the decision.
Huynh said he felt vindicated.
“I’m very happy. This is the right decision,” Huynh told San José Spotlight outside the courthouse. “People have been trying to silence me because I’ve been trying to expose the pro-communists in the city of San Jose for a long time.”
Huynh’s attorneys during closing arguments portrayed Doan’s detention order request as a political move tied to a larger battle over loyalties — and enduring divisions — among refugees who remember the Vietnam War.
“Unfortunately, there is a problem in our community — we are not united,” Huynh’s attorney, Minh Steven Dovan, said as he closed the hearing. “That’s a fact.”
Dovan said much of the recent animosity between Huynh and Doan stems from Doan’s attendance at a 2023 gala hosted by the Vietnamese American Business Association, a group that some community members — including Huynh — consider sympathetic to the Vietnamese government.
The organization’s chairman, Cal Waste Solutions CEO David Duong, was at the courthouse Tuesday to testify that Huynh is viewed by many in the community as a gangster-like “Godfather” figure. Duong is another prominent Vietnamese American businessman whose Oakland-based political activities have been the subject of FBI search warrants.
Duong found himself in the middle of Doan and Huynh’s feud when he arranged a meeting between the two last September at the Paloma Cafe in the Grand Century Shopping Mall. Doan accused Huynh of telling her in Vietnamese, “You better be afraid of me.” Huynh’s defense team denied making the statement. But Duong corroborated it in his own testimony.
The case brought out a number of well-known names in Little Saigon to testify, including district supervisor candidate Betty Duong, flag-raising ceremony organiser Ha Trieu and Nghe Lu, a Vietnamese media reporter.
San Jose City Attorney Maren Clouse, who represents Doan, disputed the notion that Doan’s request was politically motivated. She said Huynh repeatedly placed himself near Doan at public events. She also raised concerns about the fact that Huynh surrendered a gun to police after a court granted Doan a temporary restraining order during the trial. That temporary order expired Wednesday.
“This case is not about a disagreement about who supports whom,” Clouse said at the hearing. “Councilwoman Doan should not have to carry out her duties as a council member in fear.”
Geffon agrees that Doan’s request was not politically motivated. But he also doesn’t buy the dark portrait Doan paints of Huynh. He points to the fact that Huynh holds various business licenses that would not have been granted if he had a troubled record. He dismisses the notion that Huynh is a Godfather with ties to criminals.
“We don’t have any real evidence,” Geffron said.
Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Editor’s Note: Cal Waste Solutions has donated to San José Spotlight.
