affidavit

Meghan Markle‘s estranged father, Thomas Markle Sr., allegedly cut off his ankle monitor following his arrest on child pornography charges.

Four days ago, Markle Sr., 82, was ordered to wear a location monitoring device after a federal judge allowed him to remain out of custody pending his trial, according to Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California. Markle Sr. was arrested in Florida and is charged in the Central District of California with possession of child pornography.

“He allegedly cut the bracelet off at 1:45 a.m. last night,” Essayli posted on X on Tuesday. “Release conditions are court orders, not suggestions. We are asking the court to revoke his release and detain him pending trial, and we will continue to prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law.”

U.S. Magistrate Judge Lindsay Saxe Griffin has since ordered Markle Sr. to be jailed without bond at a hearing in Tampa, representatives from Essayli’s office told The Times.

Markle Sr. was arrested after federal authorities searched two storage units he allegedly rents in California. The storage units had been registered to Markle Sr. since 2008, with his most recent payments on both made in October via auto-pay.

Inside the storage units, agents say they found approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives and books that contained suspected child pornography. The affidavit describes two images that show an adult man with a nude prepubescent girl. A third image depicts a nude prepubescent girl what appears to be a motel room in the Philippines. A witness who has known Markle Sr. since the 1970s identified him as the man in at least two photographs with a minor, according to the complaint.

An external view of the Sean M. Gibbons U.S. Courthouse in Tampa, Fla. Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle Sr., is facing charges of child pornography possession.

(Mike Carlson / Getty Images)

The affidavit further describes additional photographs that appear to show Markle Sr. with children in various stages of undress.

Last month, Meghan’s half-brother Thomas Markle Jr. claimed he’d found “hundreds, if not thousands” of child pornography images inside four large boxes at the Cebu, Philippines, home of his father, Markle Sr., and contacted authorities, according to the British tabloid the Sun.

Meghan’s team issued a statement to The Times following reports of the news, writing that she was “deeply distressed.”

“My thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed,” she said.

“In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me. It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated,” she continued, adding, “I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children, was for one reason: to protect them.”

The Duchess of Sussex said that she trusted authorities were “doing the same for other families.”

“Although the breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine, my sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children,” she said.

Meghan’s relationship with her father, a former Hollywood lighting director, has been the subject of media scrutiny since 2018, when she and Prince Harry tied the knot. Markle Sr. did not attend the wedding.

Last month, Markle Sr. denied the accusations, calling them “bulls—” and “lies.” If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Selma Blair is apologizing following an alleged violent medical episode that unfolded on a Delta airlines flight earlier this month.

The “Cruel Intentions” star posted a video on Instagram on Friday acknowledging that she has “been quiet for a couple of weeks since October 11th.”

“You deserve to hear from me directly, and I’m sorry that it’s taken this long,” Blair said. “There is a legal matter going on, and my lawyers have asked me to not say anything about that day, and I’m listening to them, and I take this very seriously.”

Blair was arrested and taken to a hospital for evaluation late on Oct. 11 after allegedly becoming violent with a Delta flight staff, according to the New York Port Authority. The Port Authority Police Department responded to a call from Blair’s flight, traveling from Los Angeles International Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport. Two flight attendants needed medical assistance after an alleged altercation that unfolded mid-flight and one was transported to a hospital for further evaluation.

According to dispatch audio, obtained by TMZ, a flight attendant suffered a bloody nose, and Blair is alleged to have “bashed her head” against an overhead compartment. Representatives for Blair told The Times that “Selma experienced a medical emergency that led to the alleged conduct.”

The star has been candid about her battle with multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic neurological disorder and autoimmune disease, since 2018.

In Blair’s social media mea culpa, she said her intention wasn’t to harm anyone. “What I can tell you, though, is very simple and the truest thing I know about myself, and that not one day ever have I intended to hurt or frighten anyone a day in my life, and so to the people that I disappointed, that I hurt, that I frightened, alarmed, I am so sorry,” she continued.

“And to the people that have written, or called, or sent wishes of love or caring, it has meant everything to me and my son, who is my world. . . So right now, I’m going to be taking care of my health and my son, and thinking of you all with gratitude and love.”

The FBI is investigating the incident, and the agency issued the “Legally Blonde” star a notice charging her with assault, per a federal law enforcement official who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Additionally, the Queens district attorney swiftly filed charges against Blair, which included two counts of second-degree assault. According to an affidavit obtained by The Times, Blair wiggled a leg free and repeatedly kicked a police officer who was attempting to secure her to a stretcher.

Hours later, Blair allegedly kicked a Jamaica Hospital Medical Center nurse in the chest, according to the affidavit.

Representatives for Blair emailed a statement to The Times, writing that “the public account of what happened to Selma aboard a flight to New York has been built almost entirely on a police statement and a decade-old headline.”

Blair’s rep decried reports that have circulated regarding the details of the mid-flight episode, writing to “correct the record.”

“There was no attempt to open the door of the aircraft,” the statement continued. “The suggestion by anyone, that Selma does not have multiple sclerosis is outrageous. Her diagnosis has been public since 2018. What Selma has been able to do physically in the years since is nothing short of a miracle. She still has bad days, and she lives with pain daily. Selma also has pseudobulbar affect, a neurological condition secondary to her MS, which bears directly on how a medical episode presents to people who do not know her. For the same reason, she travels with a service dog who doesn’t leave her side, and the authorities took her dog from her.”

Times staff writer Alexandra Del Rosario contributed to this report.