alleges

Jose Raul Mulino says the visa-removal policy is ‘not coherent’ with the ‘good relationship’ he hopes to have with the US.

Panama President Jose Raul Mulino said that someone at the United States Embassy has been threatening to cancel the visas of Panamanian officials.

His statements come as the administration of US President Donald Trump pressures Panama to limit its ties to China.

Responding to a reporter’s question at his weekly news conference, Mulino said — without offering evidence — that an official at the US Embassy is “threatening to take visas”, adding that such actions are “not coherent with the good relationship I aspire to maintain with the United States”. He did not name the official.

The US Embassy in Panama did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Trump administration has previously declined to comment on individual visa decisions.

But in September, the US Department of State said in a statement that the country was committed to countering China’s influence in Central America. It added that it would restrict visas for people who maintained relationships with China’s Communist Party or undermined democracy in the region on behalf of China.

Earlier this week, the Trump administration revoked the visas of six foreigners deemed by US officials to have made derisive comments or made light of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last month.

Similar cases have surfaced recently in the region. In April, former Costa Rica President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias said the US had cancelled his visa. In July, Vanessa Castro, vice president of Costa Rica’s Congress, said that the US Embassy told her her visa had been revoked, citing alleged contacts with the Chinese Communist Party.

Panama has become especially sensitive to the US-China tensions because of the strategically important Panama Canal.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Panama in February on his first foreign trip as the top US diplomat and called for Panama to immediately reduce China’s influence over the canal.

Panama has strongly denied Chinese influence over canal operations but has gone along with US pressure to push the Hong Kong-based company that operated ports on both ends of the canal to sell its concession to a consortium.

Mulino has said that Panama will maintain the canal’s neutrality.

“They’re free to give and take a visa to anyone they want, but not threatening that, ‘If you don’t do something, I’ll take the visa,’” Mulino said Thursday.

He noted that the underlying issue — the conflict between the US and China — “doesn’t involve Panama”.

Soldiers from a Madagascar army unit have declared support for the youth-led anti-government protests, urging police to disobey ‘unlawful orders.’ President Andry Rajeolina says an ‘attempted illegal seizure of power’ is under way.

A United States citizen who was detained by Israel on the Global Sumud Flotilla, which tried to deliver aid to Gaza, says he and other activists endured abuse and “psychological torture” in Israeli custody.

David Adler, who was released and deported to Jordan on Tuesday, said after Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla in international waters, they took the activists to a prison complex in the Negev desert in southern Israel.

“We were kidnapped, stripped, zip-tied, blindfolded and sent to an internment camp on a police van without any access to food, to water, to legal support,” he said. “And for the next five days, on and off, we were psychologically tortured.”

In an audio message shared with Al Jazeera through the advocacy group Progressive International, Adler said he and another Jewish activist were picked out and forced to be photographed with Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

“After interception, we were violently forced onto our knees into positions of submission, where the two Jews of the flotilla were taken by the ear and ripped from the group for a photo-op with Ben-Gvir, staring at the flag of the State of Israel, taunted by his goons,” Adler said.

He described his time in detention as a “five-day nightmare of serial and systematic violations of our most basic rights”.

‘My Jewish heritage demands it’

Adler, who is co-general coordinator at Progressive International, added that riot troops would raid the prison with attack dogs at night to “terrify and terrorise” the detainees.

His testimony adds to the allegations of mistreatment of flotilla activists, who included climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.

The flotilla – a collection of more than 40 boats and 470 people from across the world – aimed to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza, which has sparked a deadly hunger crisis in the territory.

Israel intercepted the flotilla in international waters last week, a move that human rights advocates have argued is illegal.

Adler was one of more than 20 US citizens in the group and among the last to be released.

Earlier this week, about two dozen lawmakers from the activist’s home state of California penned a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling on him to push for Adler to be freed.

As he was sailing towards Gaza last week, Adler shared a social media post reflecting on his Jewish identity and the decision to participate in the flotilla.

“If there’s any part of the Torah that I still remember, it is this obligation it bestows upon us: ‘Justice, justice you shall pursue.’ How could we stand by while the State of Israel perverts this holy obligation, overseeing a holocaust of the Palestinian people?” Adler wrote.

“I joined this flotilla just like any other delegate – to defend humanity before it is too late. But on Yom Kippur, I am reminded that I am also here because my Jewish heritage demands it.”

Trump envoy taunts Adler

According to Adler, US officials did not provide any consular services to him and other Americans who were imprisoned by Israel.

“The US general consul said, ‘We are not your babysitters. You’d have no food, no water, no money, no phones, no planes,’” he said. “‘We’re taking you straight to the airport, and you’re on your own.’”

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee had rebuked Adler personally, calling him a “self-absorbed tool of Hamas”.

Huckabee also echoed the false Israeli claims that the flotilla is “Hamas-funded”.

Palestinian rights advocates and many Palestinians in Gaza welcomed the flotilla, saying it demonstrates the power of individuals to take direct action to help the people in Gaza even if they fail to reach the shores of the territory.

In his message, Adler called the mistreatment of the activists a marker of “how rogue the state of Israel has become in its utter disregard for basic international humanitarian law”.

“I’m obviously very aware that all of this pales in comparison to the treatment that Palestinians endure every single day,” he said.

Israel holds thousands of Palestinian detainees, many without  charge or trial.

Rights groups and United Nations experts have documented horrific and systemic torture of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, including the use of starvation and sexual violence against captives.

Israel continues to imprison US teenager Mohammed Ibrahim, who was arrested in the occupied West Bank in February and has since lost more than a quarter of his body weight, according to his family.

The Israeli government’s Press Office and US Department of State did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment by the time of publication.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has relieved three deputies of duty while it investigates the circumstances of the bloody beating of a Valencia man outside a Santa Clarita bar last year.

Parker Seitz, 25, alleged in a federal lawsuit that off-duty sheriff’s deputies attacked him outside a bar called the Break Room last Thanksgiving Day.

He sustained multiple serious injuries, according to the complaint filed in California’s Central District federal court on Aug. 25, including a fractured jaw, a punctured lung and a bruised collarbone.

Seitz is suing the county, multiple L.A. County sheriff’s deputies, hired security guards at the Break Room, and the bar itself for unspecified damages.

“Parker Seitz was violently attacked by off-duty Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputies, under the watchful eye of security guards contracted by a local business,” Josh Stambaugh, an attorney for Seitz, said in a statement. “He suffered serious injuries and, as we allege in our lawsuit, members and leaders of the LASD then attempted to conceal the truth of the attack and evade accountability on behalf of the organization.”

The sheriff’s department said in an email that it “takes these allegations seriously,” and that on Dec. 2 it “initiated an internal investigation into the incident. Three employees have been relieved of duty pending the outcome of the investigation.”

Management at the Break Room did not respond to requests for comment.

The complaint alleges assault and battery by off-duty deputies Randy Austin and Nicholas Hernandez and an unidentified third assailant, along with a civil conspiracy by the county and a number of sheriff’s department employees accused of trying to bury the incident.

Parker Seitz, 25, alleges off-duty sheriff’s deputies attacked him outside a Santa Clarita bar called the Break Room last Thanksgiving Day. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has relieved three deputies of duty while it investigates the incident.

(Robert Hanashiro / For The Times)

About 10:30 p.m. Nov. 27, Seitz and two friends visited the bar, where Austin, Hernandez and the third assailant “began to bother and harass Seitz, including by repeatedly reaching for the sunglasses resting on” his head, according to the complaint. Minutes after Seitz left the bar about 1:36 a.m. Nov. 28, the complaint said, Hernandez knocked the shades off Seitz’s head “in a rude and offensive manner” and “an altercation broke out.”

The altercation dissipated quickly, according to the complaint, but then at about 1:46 a.m., Austin, “suddenly and without any justification,” punched Seitz and knocked him down, then Austin, Hernandez and the unidentified third person proceeded “to beat and stomp on him while he was on the ground.”

Seitz was bloodied during the beating and taken to a nearby hospital. Shortly after his arrival there, Justin Diez — who was a captain in charge of the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s station at the time of the incident and was promoted in April to lead the department’s North Patrol Division as commander — and deputy Richard Wyatt allegedly defamed him and violated his constitutional and civil rights in an effort to intimidate him and cover up the assault, the complaint said.

Wyatt, Seitz alleged, told one of Seitz’s friends that he had thrown the first punch and that he had been disruptive while at the hospital, which Seitz denies.

Later that morning, Diez called Seitz’s father, Ryan Seitz, and told him his son had “started a fight with off-duty deputies of the LASD” and “if Ryan Seitz would leave it to” Diez, he “would make sure the situation would go away,” the complaints said, describing the call as an attempt “to cover up the true circumstances of the beating … and to intimidate and dissuade Seitz from filing or pressing charges or pursuing any claims against the deputies” or the county.

The Sheriff’s Department did not directly respond to the allegations outlined in Seitz’s complaint, but it said that it “has established policies and procedures that clearly outline the standards of conduct required of all employees. … Any violation of these standards will be addressed promptly, and appropriate action will be taken if evidence is found to support the allegation of misconduct.”

Stambaugh said Seitz “was out with friends after a Friendsgiving dinner celebrating the purchase of his first home” the night he was allegedly assaulted.

“Parker Seitz’s lawsuit is a demand for accountability in response to the wrongs he has personally suffered, and an effort to ensure that the actions of these specific LASD members remain an anomaly,” Stambaugh said in his statement. “This is not the LASD that the Seitz family had supported and believed in.”

The Federal Trade Commission accused a shadowy group of flooding Ticketmaster with fake accounts to purchase and resell tickets to concerts by Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen and other top artists.

The FTC alleged that between Nov. 1, 2022, and Dec. 30, 2023, a core group of three individuals used a network of sites such as Totaltickets, TotallyTix and Front Rose Tix to purchase at least 379,776 tickets from Ticketmaster, spending nearly $57 million. The complaint states they then resold those tickets on secondary marketplaces for nearly $64 million.

The trio allegedly used software to mask IP addresses, purloined credit cards and SIM cards to create fake Ticketmaster accounts. They also enlisted friends and family to create Ticketmaster Verified Fan accounts, giving small sign-up bonuses and kickbacks for creating new accounts.

The FTC alleges that the group made $1.2 million from flipping tickets to Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour in 2023 alone. According to the complaint, at a Las Vegas Taylor Swift concert, “Defendants used 49 different accounts to purchase 273 tickets to Taylor Swift’s March 25, 2023, concert at Allegiant Stadium, dramatically exceeding The Eras Tour’s 2023 six-ticket limit. Defendants then marked up and resold these tickets, netting $119,227.21 in revenue.”

For one Bruce Springsteen show at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 1, 2023, “Defendants used 277 different accounts to purchase 1,530 tickets, dramatically exceeding Springsteen and the E Street Band’s four-ticket limit. Defendants marked up and resold these tickets, netting $20,900.84 in revenue.”

The FTC alleges their actions are a violation of the Better Online Ticket Sales Act. Representatives for Ticketmaster parent firm Live Nation did not immediately return a request for comment.

While Ticketmaster is not accused of any wrongdoing in the complaint, Swift famously lambasted Ticketmaster after the Eras Tour on-sale fiasco in which many fans were locked out of opportunities to buy tickets and saw seats instantly snapped up and placed on resale markets at many times the face value.

“There are a multitude of reasons why people had such a hard time trying to get tickets and I’m trying to figure out how this situation can be improved moving forward,” she wrote in a 2022 social media post. “I’m not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them multiple times if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could.”

“It really pisses me off that a lot of [fans] feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them,” Swift added.

The incident prompted rowdy hearings in Congress and a federal antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and Live Nation. Although Ticketmaster is not targeted in the complaint, the FTC does include a slide that it says is from a 2018 presentation deck, where Ticketmaster warns of “Serious negative economic impact if we move to 8 ticket limit across the board.” In March, President Trump issued an executive order to combat fraudulent ticket reselling practices.

Denise Richards has accused estranged husband Aaron Phypers of abuse, death threats and possession of unregistered weapons in a request for a temporary restraining order that was granted Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Phypers, who filed for divorce on July 7 and gave July 4 as the date of separation, has denied abusing Richards.

Richards’ TRO request, reviewed by The Times, refers to abuse that allegedly occurred during their marriage, including between July 4 and July 14, after she had moved out of the family home and into three townhouses that she uses separately as a studio, an office and her residence.

“Throughout our relationship, Aaron would frequently violently choke me, violently squeeze my head with both hands, tightly squeeze my arms, violently slap me in my face and head, aggressively slam my head into the bathroom towel rack, threaten to kill me, hold me down with his knee on my back to the point where I would have to plead with him to get off me so that he would not kill me,” Richards said in her filing.

She added that he “regularly threatened to ‘break my jaw’ and would cry, beg me to stay, and promise to get help — none of which ever happened.”

Richards alleged that Phypers gave her at least three concussions and regularly called her profane and degrading names. She also accused him of downloading her private text messages to her laptop and taking photos of the texts.

“Until now, I have been afraid to report Aaron to the police or file for a restraining order because he has repeatedly threatened to kill himself and me if I reported him to the police,” Richards said in the document, “among his other threats of harm to me and himself if he is reported for his abuse to anyone.”

She said he told her he had eight unregistered guns and some bulletproof vests.

Describing an incident from mid-April, she alleged that she had returned from a business trip and told Phypers he could not stay at the studio townhouse and had to leave. She locked the doors behind him.

While she was unpacking, Richards said in the filing, “Aaron climbed onto the balcony and pushed through the screen and entered the room I was in on the second floor. Once inside, Aaron aggressively approached me and grabbed the back of my head by my hair and pushed me on the ground and put his knee on my back so I could not get up. He would often do this. Aaron then screamed in my face.”

Richards said she told Phypers that she was going to call the police.

“[H]e responded, as he typically did, ‘Watch them try and take me away, they have no idea who they are dealing with and you have no idea who you are dealing with.’ When he refused to leave, I felt unsafe and chose to leave the premises.”

Richards also included photos of herself from January 2022 showing a severe black eye, which she alleged she got when Phypers hit her with “the heel of his palm” during an after-hours incident at his workplace.

There was yelling during the incident, which attracted a police officer who happened to be in the parking lot. After the officer left, Phypers “resumed screaming,” she said, then struck her and used profanity, calling her a derogatory name, she alleged in the filing.

Phypers, born Aaron William Cameron and referred to in the TRO request as Aaron William Cameron Phypers, has denied Richards’ allegations, telling TMZ in a statement Thursday that they are “false and deeply hurtful.” He told the website that he never abused her or anyone else physically or emotionally.

Phypers and actor Nicollette Sheridan of “Desperate Housewives” got married secretly in December 2015, but she filed for divorce six months later. That split wasn’t finalized until August 2018.

He and Richards began their relationship in 2017. They wed a little more than a year later in September 2018, a month after Phypers and Sheridan’s split was finalized, in a private ceremony in Malibu. Richards was previously married to “Two and a Half Men” star Charlie Sheen from 2002 to 2006.

For now, Phypers must stay 100 yards away from Richards and her car, workplace and home and cannot possess firearms or body armor. She requested that he return her laptops and asked for permission to record any phone calls that violate the stay-away order. A hearing on making the restraining order permanent is scheduled for Aug. 8.

Times staff writer Alexandra Del Rosario contributed to this report.

United States immigration agents have detained prominent Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. and are working to deport him, with officials saying he has “an active arrest warrant in Mexico for his involvement in organized crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition, and explosives.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials arrested Chávez, 39, in Studio City on Wednesday and are processing him for expedited removal from the U.S., according to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE.

A Homeland Security news release said Chávez had been flagged as a public safety threat, but “the Biden administration indicated in internal records he was not an immigration enforcement priority.”

Last year in January, officials said, the Los Angeles Police Department arrested Chávez and he was charged with illegal possession of an assault weapon and manufacture or import of a short barreled rifle. He was later convicted of the charges.

Chávez’s manager, Sean Gibbons, told The Times they are currently “working on a few issues” following the boxer’s arrest but had no further comment.

Michael A. Goldstein, a lawyer who has worked with Chávez in previous cases, said his client “was detained outside of his residence by 25 or more ICE and other law enforcement agents.”

“They blocked off his street and took him into custody leaving his family without any knowledge of his whereabouts,” Goldstein said. “The current allegations are outrageous and appear to be designed as a headline to terrorize the community. Mr. Chavez is not a threat to the community.”

The son of Mexican boxing legend Julio César Chávez, widely regarded as the greatest boxer in his country’s history, Chávez Jr. faced off on Saturday against influencer-turned-fighter Jake Paul and lost.

Two weeks before the Anaheim bout against Paul, Chávez held a public workout in Maywood, where he spoke to The Times. He revealed that one of his trainers had skipped the training session out of fear of immigration enforcement.

“I was even scared, to tell you the truth. It’s very ugly,” Chávez said. “I don’t understand the situation — why so much violence? There are a lot of good people, and you’re giving the community an example of violence. I’m from Sinaloa, where things are really ugly, and to come here, to such a beautiful country with everything… and see Trump attacking immigrants, Latinos, for no reason. Not being with God makes you think you know everything. Trump made a bad decision.”

He added: “After everything that’s happened, I wouldn’t want to be deported.”

When U.S. officials announced the arrest Thursday, they referred to Chávez as an “affiliate of the Sinaloa cartel.” The Trump administration has designated the Mexican drug trafficking group as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization.”

“Under President Trump, no one is above the law — including world-famous athletes,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

According to the Homeland Security news release, Chávez entered the country legally in August 2023, with a B2 tourist visa that was valid until February 2024. He had filed an application for lawful permanent resident status last year in April, officials said, based on his marriage to Frida Muñoz, a U.S. citizen, who U.S. officials said “is connected to the Sinaloa cartel through a prior relationship with the now-deceased son of the infamous cartel leader Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman.”

El Chapo, a known fan of Chávez Sr. during his fighting days, is now serving a life sentence in U.S. federal prison after a 2019 conviction for his leadership role in the Sinaloa cartel.

Muñoz was previously in a relationship with Edgar Guzmán Loera, El Chapo’s eldest son, who was killed in Sinaloa in 2008.

The couple had a daughter, Frida Sofía Guzmán Muñoz. Following Edgar’s death, Muñoz distanced herself from the family and moved to the United States, eventually beginning a relationship with Chávez. Their daughter, Frida Sofía, has recently launched a music career and frequently attends her stepfather’s fights, including the most recent fight in Anaheim.

Chávez has faced criticism over alleged associations with figures linked to drug trafficking. In lengthy social media videos, he has claimed friendship with Ovidio Guzmán, another son of El Chapo who court records show has agreed to plead guilty to federal drug trafficking charges in Chicago.

Last year, on Dec. 17, according to the Homeland Security news release, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services made a referral to ICE that Chávez was “an egregious public safety threat.”

“However, an entry in a DHS law enforcement system under the Biden administration indicated Chávez was not an immigration enforcement priority,” the release stated.

According to the release, Chávez was allowed to reenter the country on Jan. 4 at the San Ysidro port of entry.

“Following multiple fraudulent statements on his application to become a Lawful Permanent Resident, he was determined to be in the country illegally and removable on June 27,” the Homeland Security release stated.

Chávez has been in the boxing spotlight since childhood, often walking to the ring alongside his father. He began his professional career in 2003 and reached the pinnacle in 2011 when he won the WBC middleweight title against Sebastian Zbik. He defended the belt three times before losing it to Sergio Martínez in 2012.

However, his career has been plagued by discipline issues, substance abuse, and struggles with making weight. In 2017, he faced fellow Mexican star Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez, suffering a lopsided unanimous decision loss that marked a turning point in his career’s decline.

Nicknamed “El Hijo de la Leyenda” (“Son of the Legend”) or simply “JR,” Chávez Jr. has had legal and personal troubles in recent years. He was arrested on suspicion of weapons possession and later entered a residential rehab facility. His battle with addiction has frequently played out in the public eye, including viral social media disputes with his father, one of his most vocal critics, yet also his most steadfast supporter.

According to Homeland Security, Chávez was convicted in 2012 of driving under the influence of alcohol and was sentenced to 13 days in jail and 36 months of probation.

Goldstein, Chávez’s lawyer, noted that his client is a public figure who has been living and working in the U.S. without issue in recent weeks. Goldstein pointed to his recent fight, saying, “His workouts were open to the public and afforded law enforcement countless opportunities to contact him if he was indeed a public threat.”

“He has been focused on his own personal growth and mental health,” Goldstein said. “He is in full compliance with his mental health diversion and all court obligations. For this reason, we fully expect his only pending case to be dismissed as required by statute.”

In 2023, according to Homeland Security, a judge in Mexico issued an arrest warrant for Chávez “for the offense of organized crime for the purpose of committing crimes of weapons trafficking and manufacturing crimes.”

The release said the warrant was for “those who participate in clandestinely bringing weapons, ammunition, cartridges, explosives into the country; and those who manufacture weapons, ammunition, cartridges, and explosives without the corresponding permit.”

Mexican authorities, who typically do not reveal the full names of suspects in criminal cases, said Thursday that federal prosecutors had issued an arrest warrant for Julio “C” in March 2023 for organized crime and arms trafficking. A news release from Mexico’s equivalent of the attorney general’s office said U.S. officials had started the process of turning him over to face justice.

Mexico City bureau chief Patrick J. McDonnell contributed to this report.

July 3 (UPI) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was wrongfully deported in March, alleged in court documents filed Wednesday that he was tortured in an El Salvador prison.

Lawyers for Abrego Garcia filed an amended complaint in his lawsuit against the Trump administration that outlines what happened with him after he was deported to the Central American country on March 15.

Abrego Garcia told his lawyers that he was subjected to severe mistreatment upon arrival at El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center mega prison, enduring alleged severe beatings, severe sleep deprivation, inadequate nutrition and psychological torture.

“Welcome to CECOT. Whoever enters here doesn’t leave,” a prison official told the detainees, including Abrego Garcia, who recounted his ordeal to his lawyers.

Abrego Garcia alleged that he was forced to strip and issued prison clothing while authorities kicked him in the legs with boots and hit him on the head and arms to make him change clothes faster. His head was then shaved and he was marched to a cell while he was struck by wooden batons along the way.

“By the following day, plaintiff Abrego Garcia had visible bruises and lumps all over his body,” the lawyers wrote in the court documents.

The detainees were then allegedly forced to kneel for around nine hours overnight as guards beat anyone who fell from exhaustion. “Abrego Garcia was denied bathroom access and soiled himself,” his lawyers wrote.

Later, authorities separated detainees who had visible gang-related tattoos from those who did not. Still, Abrego Garcia was threatened with being sent to the cells where alleged gang members would “tear” him apart.

Abrego Garcia lost 31 pounds in the first two weeks of his detention and he was eventually transferred to another prison in Santa Ana, El Salvador.

The latest court documents also lay into the Trump administration for its actions since Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported, including defiance of orders by a federal judge to bring him back to the United States until he was abruptly returned in early June.

Abrego Garcia, 29, was returned to last month to face two federal charges in Tennessee related allege migrant smuggling.

He is currently being held in Nashville.

Terrance “T.A.” Dixon, once a hype man to rapper Fat Joe, has sued his former employer for $20 million, making some allegations that might blend right in at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ RICO and sex-trafficking trial.

The federal lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York and reviewed by The Times, alleges that the rapper underpaid Dixon, cut him out of promised pay for contributing to album tracks, defrauded authorities about his income, ditched Dixon in foreign countries without money or transportation home and is running a criminal organization built on intimidation and violence.

The lawsuit alleges that Fat Joe forced the hype man — a sort of backing vocalist who pumps up the audience — into approximately 4,000 sex acts with women in front of him and his crew.

The 54-year-old rapper, born Joseph Antonio Cartagena, is also accused of having sexual relationships with girls who were 15 and 16. The allegations go back to when the rapper was in his late 30s, the lawsuit says. Fat Joe’s song “She’s My Mama,” which has graphically sexual lyrics, was based on what is alleged to have happened with him and one of the girls in real life, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit states that Dixon’s role over about 16 years was more than that of the usual hype man. He “consistently” had duties that included co-writing lyrics, structuring hooks, recording background vocals, performing at more than 200 live shows as Fat Joe’s primary onstage counterpart and managing travel logistics, including equipment transport, security and emergency arrangements. The complaint alleges that Dixon also acted as Joe’s bodyguard and handler during tours.

According to the filing, Dixon wrote or co-wrote tracks including “Congratulations,” “Money Over Bitches,” “Ice Cream,” “Cupcake,” “Blackout,” “Dirty Diana,” “Porn Star,” “Okay Okay,”“No Problems,” a version of “All the Way Up,” “300 Brolic,” “All I Do Is Win (Remix verse),” “Red Café (Remix),” “Winding on Me,” “Cocababy” and “Get It for Life.”

The complaint alleges that Dixon was not properly paid for his efforts, even though he says he was promised certain ownership percentages and documented credit on songs that Fat Joe released commercially. Dixon, who left Fat Joe’s team in 2020, was unable to obtain certain evidence of wrongdoing until a person named as “Accountant Doe” came forward last year with information, the lawsuit says.

Fat Joe “exercised sole control over contracts, budgets, tour management, licensing, and credit attribution and intentionally omitted Plaintiff’s name from liner notes, publishing registrations, and royalty structures, despite Plaintiff’s direct contributions to these works’ creative and commercial success,” the complaint says.

Joe Tacopina, an attorney for Fat Joe, called the lawsuit “a blatant attack of retaliation” and labeled the allegations “complete fabrications” that his client denies in a statement to Variety. Retaliation referred to the slander lawsuit that the rapper filed against Dixon in April after the former hype man accused him on social media of flying a 16-year-old across state lines for sex.

Dixon’s attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, is also representing producer Lil Rod (Rodney Jones) in his $30-million federal lawsuit filed last year against Sean “Diddy” Combs and others in Combs’ orbit, in which Lil Rod alleged sexual harassment and sexual assault. A judge tossed out a majority of Lil Rod’s allegations against Combs in late March.

Both lawsuits include trigger warnings in bright red type ahead of the allegations — something not often seen in such documents.

“Fat Joe is Sean Combs minus the Tusi [pink cocaine],” Blackburn said in a statement to the Independent. “He learned nothing from his 2013 federal conviction,” the attorney added, referencing Fat Joe’s four-month sentence and $15,000 fine in a plea deal for failure to file a tax return in multiple years on more than $3.3 million in income.

In addition to Fat Joe, defendants in the new lawsuit include Peter “Pistol Pete” Torres, Richard “Rich Player” Jospitre, Erica Juliana Moreira and several companies —including Roc Nation — that are affiliated with the rapper. Dixon is asking for a jury trial.

A California Democratic Party employee sued the organization in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, alleging he was repeatedly groped and sexually assaulted by former Chairman Eric Bauman.

William Floyd, who served as Bauman’s assistant from March 2016 until November 2018, claims in the suit that Bauman performed oral sex on him without his consent on at least three occasions. He said he became fearful of Bauman after the party leader allegedly told him, “If you cross me, I will break you.”

Floyd, 28, is seeking damages for lost income, emotional distress and pain and suffering, as well as punitive damages and attorneys’ fees. The complaint names Bauman, 60, and the state and Los Angeles County Democratic parties as defendants, alleging that the two organizations failed to prevent Bauman’s harassing behavior and retained him in “conscious disregard of the rights and well-being of others.”

“We have not yet been formally served with this lawsuit and have only learned about the filing of it through media inquiries this evening,” said Neal S. Zaslavsky, Bauman’s attorney. “As with the other pending matter, Mr. Bauman will not be trying this case in the media. Mr. Bauman denies the allegations in the complaint and looks forward to complete vindication once the facts come out.”

Mark Gonzalez, chairman of the L.A. County Democratic Party, said the group was “reviewing the allegations of the complaint” and had no further comment.

Lawsuit against California Democratic Party details alleged harassment by former chair Eric Bauman »

Alexandra “Alex” Gallardo Rooker, who stepped in as acting chairwoman of the state party after Bauman’s resignation, said in a statement that the allegations “are very serious and deserve a hearing. The most appropriate venue for us all to learn the truth, whatever it may be, is ultimately in the courtroom where we can let the sun shine in.”

The lawsuit comes amid continued turmoil in the party after the resignation of Bauman, who stepped down in November following claims of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior toward party staff members and activists.

At the time, Bauman said that he planned to seek treatment for health issues and alcohol use.

“I deeply regret if my behavior has caused pain to any of the outstanding individuals with whom I’ve had the privilege to work. I appreciate the courage it took for these individuals to come forward to tell their stories,” Bauman said.

“In the interest of allowing the CDP’s independent investigation to move forward, I do not wish to respond to any of the specific allegations. However, I will use the time I am on leave to immediately seek medical intervention to address serious, ongoing health issues and to begin treatment for what I now realize is an issue with alcohol,” he added.

Bauman and the party were earlier sued by three other employees in January, who alleged discrimination and a culture of harassment and sexual misconduct that was “well-known and apparently tolerated” by top officials.

According to the new lawsuit filed Wednesday, Floyd first met Bauman in 2015 while he was interning for the Los Angeles County Democratic Party. By then, the complaint says, “Bauman had a reputation for excessive drinking, making crude sexual comments to LACDP and CDP employees and volunteers, and engaging in unwanted sexual touching and/or physical intimidation” in professional settings.

In an June 2016 incident in Long Beach, Floyd alleges, he was in Bauman’s hotel room with other members of the L.A. County party and fell asleep after having too much to drink. When he woke up, the complaint alleges, he found Bauman performing oral sex on him and quickly pulled up his pants and fled the room. The lawsuit alleges that in later conversations, Bauman implied that he had penetrated Floyd during the incident.

On two other occasions alleged in the suit, Floyd said “felt he had no choice” to comply with Bauman’s demands and allow him to perform oral sex.

The lawsuit says that on Nov. 1, just days before the 2018 midterm election, Floyd told a senior party staffer that Bauman had sexually assaulted him. Several days later, the complaint says, Floyd was contacted by the party’s human resources director, Amy Vrattos.

California Democratic Chairman Eric Bauman accused of sexually explicit comments, unwanted touching »

But officials with the party “looked the other way, and failed to confront Bauman” because of his success helping Democratic candidates across the state, the lawsuit alleges.

“Maybe I was naive, but I really thought that, by working for the Democratic Party, I could advance the causes I believed in,” Floyd said in a statement provided by his attorney. “Most of us lived in fear of [Bauman].”

Floyd’s attorney, Scott Ames, said the party has “stonewalled” his client and has “not done anything to rectify the situation.”

After Bauman resigned, the suit says, Floyd met with the state party’s investigator, who was examining allegations against Bauman. Less than a week later, the complaint alleges, state party officials told Floyd that they were closing the organization’s Los Angeles office and that he would be terminated unless he agreed to work at Sacramento headquarters.

Floyd agreed to move to Sacramento in January 2019 to keep his job, the complaint says. He is still employed by the party but plans to move back to Los Angeles County this year for graduate school.

The suit is the latest in a series of blows to the fractured California Democratic Party, which despite historic wins in last year’s elections has faced a reckoning in the #MeToo era. In addition to fallout from Bauman’s resignation, Rooker was criticized for firing two colleagues who helped file a sexual harassment complaint against Bauman.

“This is not unusual when there is a change in leadership,” Roger Salazar, a spokesman for the party, said in a statement. “These moves are not necessarily a reflection upon the work of each of the individuals involved, but are part of a desire by the acting chair to start fresh and keep the party moving in the right direction.”

[email protected]

For more on California politics, follow @cmaiduc.

Days after Alex Cooper accused her former college soccer coach of sexual harassment, Boston University has responded.

The host of the popular “Call Her Daddy” podcast, who made the allegations in a two-part Hulu documentary that premiered Tuesday after screening Sunday at the Tribeca Film Festival, played Division I soccer at the university for three years, during which time Cooper claims coach Nancy Feldman made inappropriate comments about her body and sex life, engaged in controlling behavior and touched her thigh.

“Nancy Feldman was someone I trusted. Someone I believed in. Someone who was supposed to help me grow. Someone who was supposed to protect me,” Cooper wrote Thursday on Instagram. “But instead she made my life a living hell and abused her power over me.”

In the same post, Cooper said she reported the abuse to athletic director Drew Marrochello, who she said ignored her complaints. The university addressed the allegations in a statement obtained Thursday by People and other news outlets.

“Boston University has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment. We have a robust system of resources, support and staff dedicated to student wellbeing and a thorough reporting process through our Equal Opportunity Office,” the statement reads. “We encourage members of our community to report any concerns, and we remain committed to fostering a safe and secure campus environment for all.”

While Cooper’s documentary began as a way to show behind-the-scenes footage of her 2023 Unwell Tour, a visit to Boston University — specifically the soccer field — brought her emotions back to the surface, she said in Tuesday’s brief episode of “Call Her Daddy” titled “My College Soccer Trauma.”

“The minute I stepped on that field, I felt so small,” Cooper said. “I felt like I was 18 years old again, completely powerless, with no voice.”

Cooper said “everything changed” when she discovered that other women had alleged similar experiences with Feldman. She decided that she needed to speak out after talking to one of the women.

“If a woman in my position, who has power and a platform, is still fearful, is still scared of speaking out about my own lived experience of sexual harassment, how the hell will any other woman feel safe and confident to come forward?” Cooper asked in the episode.

Since “Call Her Alex” premiered, TikTok user @sizzlinghotsarah shared her own experience with Feldman, alleging that the soccer coach harassed her for her sexuality. Cooper responded to the post, “I’m sick I’m so sorry she did this to you. Reaching out to u privately.”

Feldman retired in 2022, but Cooper claims the harassment continues under her successor.

“Call Her Alex” also traces her journey to becoming one of the top podcasters in the world. Featured in the documentary are Cooper’s former co-host Sofia Franklyn, husband Matt Kaplan, lifelong friend Lauren McMullen, who is an executive producer on the podcast, and Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports — the previous home of “Call Her Daddy.”

Cooper has become known for her revelatory interviews with everyone from Hailey Bieber and Paris Hilton to Monica Lewinsky and Jane Goodall. Last year, Cooper sat down with then-Vice President and presidential hopeful Kamala Harris — chronicled in the documentary.

Cooper created her own podcast network, Unwell, in 2023 and has hired emerging talent including Madeline Argy, Owen Thiele and Alix Earle, who abruptly left in February. In August 2024, Cooper signed a $125-million deal with SiriusXM.

Skai Jackson says Deondre Burgin, the father of her 3-month-old son, has been abusing her since last spring, including suggesting that she drink bleach while she was expecting in order to terminate her pregnancy.

Jackson was granted a temporary restraining order against him Monday, according to court documents. The actor, her son and her dog Otis are covered by the order.

The former Disney Channel star, 23, detailed a litany of alleged abuses by Burgin, 21, in her request filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Most of them are from 2024, but the inciting event behind the filing appears to have been an alleged attack on Mother’s Day of this year. Jackson said in her filing that Burgin attacked her on May 11 while she was carrying son Kasai.

“He grabbed me by the hair, slammed my head on the back seat window of my car and hit me in the face while holding my son,” the “Jessie” and “Bunk’d” actor wrote in her filing. “Deondre caused me to have a bloody nose. I don’t feel safe with my son being around him due to his violent history. He also said ‘F’ my child.”

Last June, Burgin took Jackson’s phone so he could check her messages because a man had texted her, the filing says. Jackson said he then broke her iPhone and choked her against a kitchen counter.

“He demanded that I drink bleach to kill our unborn child,” Jackson wrote about the June incident. “He then walked me to the car with a knife in his hand telling me to get in the driver seat and if I called out for help he would stab me in the stomach. He then called his friend … telling him he was about to kill me. He then told me to drive to the doctor to get an abortion. When I tried to he asked me was I crazy and why would I want to kill our child.”

Jackson said she had video documentation from July when he allegedly punched through the door of an upstairs bathroom she had locked herself in for safety and choked her until she couldn’t breathe. Jackson said that in 2024, there was a six-month period where he choked her or slammed her head into a wall about once a week, destroyed a television and punched holes in her walls.

Jackson said Burgin threatened her with a handgun and also has a rifle and a switchblade, the filing says. The “Dragons: Rescue Riders” voice actor said he threatened in September 2024 to have a member of his family come kill her and her mother.

In October, Burgin allegedly threatened to kill her after she asked him to go to therapy, the documents said.

He stands 6-foot-4 to Jackson’s reported 5-foot-2, according to her application. She asked the court to stop him and his family from posting anything about her on social media, saying that he had threatened to post revenge porn.

The two have brushed up against authorities in the past because of alleged violence between them.

“The Man in the White Van” actor was arrested at Universal Studios Hollywood last August after she and Burgin were detained by security on suspicion of domestic assault. She was arrested by sheriff’s deputies after security footage showed she had pushed Burgin twice. However, the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office didn’t pursue the case.

At the time, Jackson allegedly told authorities that she and Burgin were happily engaged and expecting a baby together.

A permanent restraining order will be considered at a June 9 hearing. The Times was unable to contact Burgin for comment. A representative for Skai Jackson did not respond immediately to The Times’ request for comment.

Former Times staff writer Nardine Saad contributed to this report.