A model suing Kanye West is speaking out about the alleged assault that lawyers for the rapper argue was his 1st Amendment right.
Jennifer An, an actor and model who competed on the 13th season of “America’s Next Top Model” in 2009, detailed the alleged assault — that she says happened in 2010 — in a new interview with the BBC’s “Fame Under Fire” podcast that was released Wednesday. In 2024, An filed a lawsuit against the “Heartless” rapper alleging he choked her and used his fingers to simulate oral sex during a music video shoot for La Roux’s “In for the Kill.”
“He had me sit in the chair in front of the camera, and I didn’t know what was going to happen. I was given no direction,” An told the BBC. “I was just told to sit in this chair, and then playback started, and then all of a sudden he just reaches a hand out and starts choking me, and I’m just not sure what’s happening, and then he pulled his other hand out and starts choking me with both hands and then starts smearing my makeup all over my face and sticking his hands inside of my mouth, which simulated oral sex.
“I remember feeling so suffocated, unsure, scared,” she said. An said she was 24 years old at the time of the alleged incident, her first foray into the industry. She told the outlet that, as it was happening, she hoped someone on the production side would call a halt to it.
“I remember him looking at me, like really intensely, and licking his lips a lot, my face was like so close to his,” she continued. “He reached a point that — I assume — he was very happy with himself, and he yelled something like, ‘This is art! I’m Picasso.’”
La Roux said she insisted the alleged assault be left on the cutting room floor, and in a 2024 Instagram exchange with An, the artist said, “I could never forget that, it was horrific,” according to court documents.
During the podcast episode, the BBC correspondent Anoushka Mutanda Dougherty asks if she can see the direct-message exchange between An and La Roux. She then reads aloud a message in which La Roux said, “I was in the room behind the monitor, begging the directors and everyone else to do something, but everyone was scared of him and did nothing.”
La Roux told An that West whispered to her, “I bet you think I just put women back about 10 years.” She said that she responded, “You just put women back about 500 years.”
Representatives for La Roux did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.
The case has not yet gone to trial. In a motion to dismiss the civil suit — which was filed under New York City’s Gender-Motivated Violence Act and remains pending — attorneys for West didn’t deny the incident took place but, rather, argued that it was an artistic performance and therefore protected by the 1st Amendment.
Attorneys representing An in the case, Melissa Berouty and Christine Hintze, told The Times in an emailed statement: “While we respect the importance of artistic expression and the protections afforded by the First Amendment, dismissing this case on that basis would set a dangerous precedent. It would effectively grant immunity to perpetrators of unlawful abuse so long as their conduct occurred under the guise of artistic expression or within an artistic setting.”
They further said that An’s claims are supported by affidavits and written communications from multiple eyewitnesses, including La Roux.
Now open is a revamped, kids-focused area in Looney Tunes Land, a remake of the former Bugs Bunny World and Whistlestop Park. All told, it’s a 5-acre space with nine rides, including two kiddie coasters, as well as still-to-come play areas, a live show and an in-development augmented reality experience.
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I last walked through the area about two summers ago, and it was in a derelict state. I’m happy to report it’s more welcoming, prettier and dotted with plant life and landscaping.
Gone is the vintage Magic Flyer, once Magic Mountain’s oldest coaster (the park’s eldest thrill seeker is now Gold Rusher). Also among the casualties: Tweety’s Escape, a steel swing that placed children in birdcages that had begun to look like mini jails. It was a grim-appearing ride.
The remaining attractions have all received some much-needed TLC. Some even have added mini storylines. What was Whistlestop Train, for instance, is now Taz’s Tasmanian Train Tours. It follows a narrative in which the ride’s titular character has escaped the zoo and is eluding capture, generally causing havoc on the countryside. It’s a calm, slow-moving ride through a small green space, and we see failed attempts to trap Taz, such as an overgrown mice contraption. The ride concludes with a mechanical not-so-hidden Taz, but not before glimpsing a statue of Tasmanian She-Devil in full kiss mode.
A look into the Bugs Bunny-focused area of Magic Mountain’s new Looney Tunes Land.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
The reimagining comes two years after Six Flags Entertainment Corp. and the Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. completed a merger, which in SoCal brought Magic Mountain and Knott’s Berry Farm under the same ownership. Six Flags’ corporate creative producer Clayton Lawrence says post-merger, the company pinpointed upping the family appeal at Magic Mountain as among its first orders of business.
That meant last summer devoting resources to improving the Hurricane Harbor water park, which Lawrence says specifically attracts families and grandparents. This year, attention was turned to the primary park in Looney Tunes Land.
“We really thought about what this park needs,” Lawrence says. “What will the parents need? How do we slow the guests down a little bit? This park has so many thrills in it — so many coasters — that we wanted to create a place that was nice to take a break from all the action and also develop areas where grandparents and parents could watch little ones burn off energy.”
It’s safe to say that Magic Mountain’s core audience is likely always going to be thrill seekers. And that fan base will be served next year with the planned opening of a new coaster that will overlook the Looney Tunes area.
The kiddie coaster the Road Runner Express at Six Flags Magic Mountain.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Magic Mountain attracted 3.3 million visitors in 2024, according to data released by the Themed Entertainment Assn. While Lawrence was not able to break down which percentage of that number included those traveling with children 12 and under, it’s safe to say that a greater family appeal is viewed as one of the ways to boost a SoCal audience.
“There’s a lot of people who grew up coming up here, or their first ride was inside Bugs Bunny World,” Lawrence says. “A lot of families have a daredevil teen who can go on the rides, but they also have a little one. This is about the multi-demo family.”
Looney Tunes Land is broken into four mini areas — Taz-Mania, Road Runner Ridge, Bugs Bunny Play Park and Camp Duck Amok. While there are no major distinctions between the spaces, there are slight differences. Taz’s footprints, for instance, are found in the gravel-colored pavement of Taz-Mania, and in the Daffy Duck locale the flooring looks a bit like rockwork. A small outback-like trail in Taz-Mania will soon be home to an augmented reality game, and a much-needed green space in the Bugs Bunny spot will later this summer be populated with tunnels and little climbing structures.
Asqwer Turki, 13, poses for a picture with Wile E. Coyote at the new Looney Tunes Land at Magic Mountain.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
There are fun additions to spot on the refreshed rides. The Canyon Cruiser beginner’s coaster, for example, nods to classic Looney Tunes cartoons, specifically prank-filled episodes featuring Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. The children’s theater has been remade into Bunny Bowl, and given giant carrots that call the attention of guests.
Such light thematic touches, said Magic Mountain President Brian Oerding, have been missing from parts of the park. They’re vital, he says, in lengthening a guest’s day.
“We’ve learned that softening the hardscape creates a better environment, a better experience, and that means you’re going to want to hang out more,” Oerding says. “Some folks will walk by black asphalt and not think anything about it, but when you look into Looney Tunes Land, and you look at the softness of the pavement and the additional landscaping, we’ve created a happier space. Mom and Dad are happier, and that means they’ll hang out longer.”
Mountain Park President Brian Oerding officially opens the new Looney Tunes Land at Magic Mountain.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Looney Tunes Land has also given Magic Mountain some much-needed in-park entertainment, as the area has been lacking a live show for a number of years. “Vacation Mayhem” comes in at just under 15 minutes and features Bugs, Daffy, Porky Pig and Sylvester imagining their perfect getaway spots in song.
Things go wrong, of course, and Bugs even explores some vices by gambling in Las Vegas, which was an odd choice I thought for a kids show, but Looney Tunes did always have a bit of an edge. Nevertheless, the musical numbers, ranging from reworkings of “The Gold Diggers’ Song (We’re in the Money)” to “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter From Camp)” keep it zipping along.
“If we don’t believe that entertainment and character shows are important, we’re missing it,” Oerding says. “Yes, the rides are cool, but we haven’t done an actual entertainment show in here in a long time.”
And Lawrence says Looney Tunes is essentially a model for the entire park. No, that doesn’t necessarily mean more kiddie rides in the coming years, only that Six Flags is looking at other places where the park can use some beautification.
“This is what we want to do for the rest of the park,” Lawrence says. “Disciplined design. Nice hardscape.”
And here’s hoping for some more plants and an additional fountain or two.
This week in SoCal theme parks
Alexis Rosales of Bell gets drenched by Luke Brodowski, performing as Fluke Mayfield at Knott’s Berry Farm’s Ghost Town Alive! in 2024.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Knott’s Berry Farm begins its summer season on Friday, and that means the return of Ghost Town Alive! This interactive live show, now a decade old, is unlike anything at any other SoCal park, and in my mind it’s the best summer entertainment available. This hybrid live-action role-playing game and work of interactive theater enables guests to live out mini-Wild West adventures while interacting with more than two dozen actors. Players follow a loose story centered on the drama in the fictional town of Calico, in the park’s Ghost Town area. It’s silly, it’s wacky and there’s even a daily newspaper. Ghost Town Alive! runs on select days, and I’ll see you there Friday.
World Cup, Lego Style! Carlsbad’s Legoland is celebrating the arrival of the World Cup with a host of limited-time activities and Lego creations. The park, for instance, has built a 30-foot-long re-creation of SoFi Stadium, and elsewhere has created brick versions of a host of soccer stars. There are interactive events as well, such as accuracy challenges and games that have attendees trying to score goals off of Lego minifigures. Legoland’s FIFIA World Cup Experience 2026 launches Thursday and runs through July 19.
Oogie Boogie Bash tickets drop — and a Haunted Mansionstreet parade? The Disneyland Resort’s popular after-hours event Oogie Boogie Bash returns Aug. 18, and tickets for Magic Key passholders go on sale June 16 (the general public sale is June 18). New this year to the Disney California Adventure experience is what the resort is calling “Madame Leota’s Swinging Wake.” Though not a full-scale parade, expect Haunted Mansion characters — the concept art shows floats of the attraction’s “stretching room” portraits — as well as ghostly dancers. But with something new, something must depart. “Madame Leota’s Swinging Wake” is replacing the “Frightfully Fun Parade.” Ticket prices vary by day, starting at $139. October dates, for instance, top off at $199.
“Harry Potter” will hover above Dodger Stadium. A theme park-like drone show is arriving Saturday at Dodger Stadium. More than 1,200 drones will soar over the park as part of a “Harry Potter”-inspired production, which will also feature music, trivia and an appearance from the film’s Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley). Expect re-creations of “Potter” iconography such as Hogwarts Castle, magical creatures, the Sorting Hat and more. The hourlong show begins at 9 p.m. and Butterbeer will be on hand. Tickets start at $52.90 for adults.
Tell us your stories. Ask us your questions.
Have a theme park tale to share? Whether it was a good day or less-than-perfect day, I would love to hear about it. Have a question? A tip? A fun photo from the parks to share? Email me at todd.martens@latimes.com. I may feature your note in an upcoming newsletter.
Ride on,
Todd Martens
P.S.
Last week I put out a call for Disneyland fans to share their Carousel of Progress memories. The theater attraction, centered around a rotating auditorium, debuted at the 1964 World’s Fair before making its way to Disneyland in 1967. It was moved to Florida’s Walt Disney World in 1975. The Walt Disney Co. announced recently that the Florida version would be undergoing a top-to-bottom overhaul, but its dedication to technological optimism throughout the decades would remain.
I’m thoroughly enjoying the remembrances. Many cited it as a favorite. “My father was a musician, and it became a family tradition that we’d sit in the back row and sing ‘[There’s] a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow’ loudly at the top of our lungs from the very beginning of the ride, which I’m sure newcomers thought was weird and probably annoying,” wrote one reader. Another noted, “The mid-60s were exciting years to be a kid, as the future seemed so promising and exciting; the [Carousel of Progress] plugged right into that enthusiasm.”
Many shared similar sentiments. “The animated activities of the characters and their dialogue embraced the ‘Happiest Place on Earth” theme that was prevalent throughout Disneyland in those earlier days,” said one fan. A few, however, called out that the attraction was sponsored by General Electric, making it feel a bit like an advertisement. As one reader summarized: “It was incredibly clunky product placement, even to a kid’s ears.”
Rams offensive lineman Alaric Jackson was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence Monday night in Los Angeles, according to a person with knowledge of the incident not authorized to speak publicly.
Jackson was arrested shortly before 11 p.m. after police responded to a call at a home in West Hills. Upon arrival, police determined that the woman involved in the incident had recorded the interaction and noticed scratch marks on her arms. Jackson was arrested and later booked into jail on a $50,000 bond, according to jail records.
The specific charge Jackson was arrested for is for a person who “willfully inflicts physical or corporal injury resulting in a ‘traumatic condition’ [such as a bruise, scratch, swelling, or internal injury] on an intimate partner.”
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case for potential charges.
“We are aware of the incident regarding Alaric Jackson, and we take these matters very seriously,” the Rams said in a statement. “Due to this being an ongoing legal situation, we cannot comment further at this time.”
Jackson, 27, entering his sixth season with the Rams as one of their anchors on the offensive line, was suspended by the NFL in 2024 for violating its personal conduct policy.
In November, a woman filed a lawsuit against Jackson alleging he recorded her without her consent during sex. The woman alleged that Jackson repeatedly refused to delete the video and then taunted her with it. The woman reported the incident to the NFL, but the civil case was dismissed.
Jackson, who joined the Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2021, signed a three-year deal with the team in February 2025 that included $35 million in guarantees.
Times staff writers Richard Winton and Gary Klein contributed to this report.
Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby has been granted a temporary injunction that allows him to practice and play with the Red Raiders in 2026 despite having been permanently banned by the NCAA for wagering on college sports.
Texas judge Ken Curry ruled Monday that the NCAA cannot block Sorsby’s final year of eligibililty. The Cincinnati transfer will have to miss the first two games of the season as one of the conditions of the ruling.
In his ruling, Curry stated that Sorsby would “suffer a probable, imminent and irreparable injury” without the injunction by missing out on the “elite coaching, training resources, camaraderie, and regimen that only being a member of a Division I college football team can provide.”
“I’m very grateful for the endless support I have received throughout this entire process. I am also grateful for the chance to rejoin my teammates,” Sorsby wrote in a statement posted Monday on Instagram. “This opportunity comes with the responsibility to remain focused on my personal growth, the ability to learn from this experience, and to be able to use my situation to help others going forward.”
The NCAA can appeal the injunction but did not immediately indicate its next steps in the matter. It is unclear how long such a process would take. Texas Tech’s season starts Sept. 5, with Sorsby first eligible to play when the Red Raiders host Houston on Sept. 18.
“The NCAA strongly disagrees with the court’s ruling in Sorsby’s case and is deeply concerned about the damaging, far-reaching and broadly destabilizing ramifications of this outcome — which undermines and corrupts the integrity of sports,” the association said in a statement.
“The NCAA is committed to supporting student-athlete mental health but must continue to aggressively defend against actions that defraud college athletics and threaten competitive integrity, such as betting on one’s own sport.”
Last month, Sorsby’s attorneys filed a lawsuit in Lubbock County District Court requesting that he be declared eligible for all team activities because the NCAA “failed to comply with its contractual commitments” to him as a student athlete and therefore “is precluded from enforcing its gambling bylaws against Mr. Sorsby to deny or withhold his reinstatement.”
Sorsby spent two years at Indiana and two at Cincinnati before transferring to Texas Tech this offseason for a reported multimillion-dollar deal. In late April, he and Texas Tech jointly announced that he had entered a residential treatment program for gambling addiction and would be away from the team for an indefinite period of time.
According to court records, Sorsby has admitted to betting at least $90,000 during his time as an NCAA student athlete, including 40 bets on Indiana football games he was not participating in as a freshman backup with the Hoosiers in 2022.
NCAA guidelines state that student athletes who bet on their own games or on other sports at their school could “potentially face permanent loss of collegiate eligibility.” Texas Tech was informed of an NCAA investigation into Sorsby’s gambling activity in March, according to court records, and declared him ineligible according to the association’s bylaws.
The NCAA has since denied two petitions from Texas Tech to have Sorsby’s eligibility reinstated.
“As we have said before, we do not believe that the circumstances of Brendan’s case warranted permanent ineligibility,” Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt said Monday in a statement. “As he returns to our football program, we remain committed to supporting Brendan’s recovery and ensuring his compliance with the court’s order. A comprehensive support structure, including clinical care, monitoring, and compliance checks, will remain fully in place for the duration of Brendan’s time as a student at Texas Tech.”
Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks, a member of the NCAA Football Oversight Committee, told Yahoo Sports that there should “be serious conversations about not playing Texas Tech in any sports” as a result of Monday’s decision.
“This is not about Texas Tech. It’s about protecting our own locker room,” Brooks said. “We cannot in good conscience put our student-athletes on a field where the competitive integrity of the contest is compromised and overridden by the courts.
“All [Football Bowl Subdivision] schools should only take the field against programs operating under a uniform, trustworthy standard of fairness. We’ve officially reached the point of no return.”
It’s not often that I remark on a casting announcement, much less one about “Scooby-Doo,” but the second I opened an email from Netflix, my jaw dropped.
A chocolate brown Great Dane puppy with blue eyes and a teal collar sitting on a tile floor gazed at me from my computer screen — I squealed. I mean, look at him. His floppy ears, grumpy little face and paws you just want to shake hands with. He’s perfect.
“Scooby-Doo: Origins” is the streamer’s upcoming live-action series, slated for release in 2027, featuring this mystery-solving pup. It marks the first time a real dog has played Scooby-Doo. For many viewers, their first exposure to Scooby and his gang was via the ‘70s Hanna-Barbera animated version, which aired on Cartoon Network in reruns in the ‘90s and early aughts, or the reboots on ABC and the WB, now the CW, more recently. Several live-action theatrical and TV films have been made over the years, but they’ve always featured a computer-generated dog. Yes, that means it took nearly six decades to have a real-life Scooby.
The previously announced cast includes key players in the Scooby gang: Mckenna Grace as Daphne Blake, Tanner Hagen as Shaggy Rogers, Abby Ryder Fortson as Velma Dinkley and Maxwell Jenkins as Fred Jones. Paul Walter Hauser is also slated to appear as a series regular in an unnamed role. Showrunners Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg helm the series.
According to the show’s logline, it’s a “modern reimagining of the iconic mystery-solving group of teens and their very special dog” that takes place at summer camp. Said dog may have been witness to a supernatural murder, leading the group of teens to set out to solve the case. It’s an origin story for Scooby and his gang.
While I wouldn’t consider myself a “Scooby-Doo” superfan, I am a fan of very cute dogs. I’ll have my Scooby snacks ready in case we ever cross paths.
June 6 (UPI) — A second case of New World screwworm was confirmed in Texas this week in a one-month old calf nearly six miles from where the first case was detected.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the second confirmed case on Friday, which was detected in Zavala County, Texas, but 5.6 miles away from the first one.
The second case was confirmed just 24 hours after the first, which had been detected in a three-week old calf, and has spurred the USDA to step up surveillance, as well as take other actions to prevent the infestation from spreading.
New World screwworm is spread by flies that lay their eggs in the exposed flesh of living animals — livestock, pets, wildlife and humans are all susceptible — and when the fly larvae, or maggots, emerge from the eggs they burrow through muscle as they grow.
Although screwworm was eradicated from the United States in the 1960s, severe infestations in recent years in Central America slowly moved toward the southern border and was detected here in 2025, according to the USDA.
“With our partners in Texas, we are responding with speed and strength,” the USDA said in a statement about the second case that was posted on X.
“We have defeated this pest before, and we will do it again,” the agency said. “America’s livestock producers have USDA’s FULL support.”
The primary way of controlling the spread of New World screwworm is a combination of trapping flies for testing, implementing detection and quarantine zones where it confirmed, and releasing sterile flies into the area it has been detected to prevent infected insects from reproducing, the agency said.
The USDA has encouraged people in the area of the two cases to check their pets and livestock for draining or enlarging wounds, if not maggots or eggs around bodily opening such as the nose, ears or genitals, or around the navel of newborn animals.
Although screwworm infection in humans is relatively rare, the infestations can happen in ways similar to animals and require immediate medical attention.
President Donald Trump discusses renovations to the Lincoln Reflecting Pool and makes an announcement on coal in the Oval Office at the White House on Thursday. Photo by Samuel Corum/UPI | License Photo
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A former senior CIA official accused of stashing more than $40 million worth of gold bars from the federal government at his Virginia home was ordered to remain jailed until his trial after a hearing Friday where a defense attorney accused prosecutors of smearing the official with “sensational,” irrelevant allegations.
The defendant, David J. Rush, has both the means and motive to flee while the case against him is pending, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick ruled, citing Rush’s professional experience.
“He’s in a different position than most people to flee and avoid detection by law enforcement,” Fitzpatrick said.
Rush is charged with fraudulently claiming tens of thousands of dollars in compensation for military leave after he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in 2015. He was arrested last month after investigators searched his home and seized more than 300 gold bars, roughly $2 million in U.S. currency and about 35 luxury watches, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.
Rush’s attorney, Jessica Carmichael, noted that Rush isn’t charged with any crimes related to the discovery of the gold bars, which she referred to as “basically a non-issue” and “nothing more than a sensational tidbit.” She said Rush properly obtained the gold bars and kept them locked in a safe in his basement.
“Mr. Rush never claimed they were his,” she said.
Between last November and March, Rush requested and received a “significant quantity” of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for “work-related expenses,” according to the FBI affidavit. Justice Department prosecutor Gavin Tisdale said Rush wasn’t supposed to have the gold bars at his home.
“That’s the issue — his skirting of rules and regulations,” he said.
Tisdale briefly summarized the case against Rush in open court after a portion of the hearing was sealed from the public. The evidence against Rush “grows stronger by the day,” Tisdale told the magistrate judge.
“Mr. Rush simply cannot be trusted to abide by this court’s conditions,” he said.
Rush enlisted in the Navy in 1997 and was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy Reserves as a lieutenant in 2015, according to the affidavit.
Authorities claim Rush lied about his education and military background on job applications, falsely claiming to be a former Navy pilot who graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Clemson University in South Carolina and a master’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York.
Investigators determined that he didn’t serve as a Navy pilot and didn’t attend either school.
WASHINGTON — Former Trump administration national security advisor John Bolton has agreed to plead guilty to a single count of retaining classified information under a deal with the Justice Department that could allow him to avoid prison time, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.
The deal would resolve a criminal case filed in October that charged Bolton with 18 counts of either retaining or disseminating classified information, including diary-like notes from his time in government that officials say he shared with his family members as he was preparing a memoir about his time in office.
Under the agreement, Bolton would also face a $2.25-million fine, said the person, who insisted on anonymity to discuss a deal that had not been made public. Any prison sentence would be capped at five years, but the agreement allows for him to avoid time behind bars, though the punishment will ultimately be up to a judge.
The case against Bolton, filed weeks after prosecutors secured indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Atty. Gen. Letitia James, unfolded against the backdrop of concerns that the Justice Department was using its law enforcement powers to pursue perceived adversaries of President Trump. The investigation burst into public view last August when FBI agents served search warrants at his Maryland home and Washington office, but it had been well underway by the time Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
Bolton is a longtime fixture in Republican foreign policy circles who became known for his hawkish views on U.S. power. He served for more than a year in Trump’s first administration before being fired in 2019 and publishing a critical book that portrayed the Republican president as deeply misinformed, an unflattering portrait of his leadership and decision-making.
Trump’s administration fought unsuccessfully to block the publication of “The Room Where it Happened” on the grounds that the book risked disclosing classified information. The plea deal that Bolton will enter covers the notes he shared with relatives as opposed to information published in the tell-all book.
A rearraignment, which typically signals a plea agreement, is scheduled for June 26 in federal court in Greenbelt, Md.
The Justice Department declined to comment.
The indictment’s 18 counts carried a threat of a substantial prison sentence in the event of conviction.
Court documents alleged that he shared with two family members “diary-like” entries with information classified as high as top secret that he had learned from meetings with other U.S. government officials, from intelligence briefings or talks with foreign leaders. After sending one document, Bolton wrote in a message to his relatives, “None of which we talk about!!!” In response, one of his relatives wrote, “Shhhhh,” prosecutors said.
The indictment said that among the material shared was information about foreign adversaries that in some cases revealed details about sources and methods used by the U.S. government to collect intelligence. One document related to a foreign adversary’s plans for a missile launch, while another detailed U.S. government plans for covert action and included intelligence blaming an adversary for an attack, court papers say.
In a statement released after his indictment, Bolton described the charges as part of an “intensive effort” by Trump to intimidate his opponents, to ensure that he alone determines what is said about his conduct.”
Bolton also served in the Department of Justice during President Reagan’s administration and was a State Department point person on arms control during George W. Bush’s presidency.
Bolton was nominated by Bush to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, but the strong supporter of the Iraq war was unable to win Senate confirmation. He resigned after serving 17 months through a recess appointment that allowed him to hold the job on a temporary basis without Senate approval.
In 2018, Bolton was appointed to serve as Trump’s third national security advisor. His brief tenure was characterized by disputes with the president over North Korea, Iran and Ukraine.
Those rifts ultimately led to Bolton’s departure, with Trump announcing on social media in September 2019 that he had accepted Bolton’s resignation.
Bolton subsequently criticized Trump’s approach to foreign policy and government in his book, alleging that Trump directly tied providing military aid to Ukraine to that country’s willingness to conduct investigations into Joe Biden, who was soon to be Trump’s Democratic rival in the 2020 presidential election, and members of the Biden family.
Trump responded by slamming Bolton as a “washed-up guy” and a “crazy” warmonger who would have led the country into “World War Six.”
Tucker writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.
PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court has denied a prosecutor’s appeal of an order that the state’s fake elector case against President Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and others over the 2020 presidential election be sent back to a grand jury.
The decision marks another setback for Democratic Atty. Gen. Kris Mayes as she struggles to push the sprawling case through the courts. Mayes’ office said it will again present the case in its entirety to a grand jury rather than end the prosecution.
The ruling came after similar cases in Michigan and Georgia were dismissed by the courts and a special prosecutor dropped a federal case in late 2024 that charged Trump with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. Cases related to the fake elector scheme remain in Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin.
A lower-court judge in Phoenix concluded in May that the case’s first grand jury hadn’t been shown the text of the Electoral Count Act, a 19th century law that governs the certification of presidential contests and was invoked by those charged in defending themselves.
Defense lawyers argued the law allowed for multiple slates of electors to be submitted to Congress in case the results were disputed, though it was amended in 2022 to specify that a state could put forward only one slate of electors and that it was the governor who would sign off.
There has been no movement in the Arizona case at the trial court level since mid-May.
Former President Joe Biden won Arizona in 2020 by 10,457 votes.
MILWAUKEE — A federal judge on Wednesday considered whether to throw out a jury’s guilty verdict against former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan, who was convicted of felony obstruction for helping an immigrant evade federal officers.
The case was an early test of how the courts would respond to President Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown.
Dugan had been scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday, but U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman postponed the proceedings indefinitely to instead hear arguments about whether to overturn her conviction.
Adelman did not rule from the bench and did not indicate when he might issue a decision. Dugan and attorneys for both sides left the courtroom without commenting to reporters.
Former judge’s attorney points to a Virginia case
Dugan’s attorney Steven Biskupic argued that her conviction was invalid and should be overturned. He said that was necessary because a federal appeals court in April overturned a key Virginia immigration case that the judge and prosecutors had cited in the Dugan case.
Biskupic argued that based on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturning that ruling, Dugan was improperly convicted, procedurally, under a certain federal law.
“Our primary argument is this was an invalid theory of conviction,” Biskupic said.
In the Virginia case, an immigrant who was in the country illegally was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and later escaped. He was recaptured and indicted on a charge of obstructing a pending immigration proceeding.
The federal appeals court found that the ICE action did not constitute a “pending proceeding,” as is required under the federal obstruction law.
Dugan’s attorneys argue that she should not have been charged because there was no “pending proceeding” against the immigrant in her courtroom being sought by ICE agents, only a warrant filed for his arrest. The filing of a warrant does not constitute a “proceeding” under the law, Biskupic argued.
Prosecutors countered that the facts in the Virginia case are different and don’t apply to Dugan’s. They also argued that other cases support Dugan’s conviction.
“The court should stick with its ruling,” said Richard Frohling, acting U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Wisconsin.
In response to a question from the judge, he contended that the appeals court was wrong to overturn the Virginia case. The judge also quizzed Frohling on what constitutes a proceeding under the law and how long it lasts.
“It could be a couple minutes, it could be a couple years,” Frohling said. “It all depends on the context.”
Dugan’s sentencing was postponed so the court can hear new arguments
Dugan, 67, faces up to five years in prison after a jury convicted her on Dec. 19. But it is unlikely that Dugan would be sentenced to prison. Federal sentencing guidelines generally call for probation for defendants like her who have no criminal history and are convicted of a nonviolent crime.
She resigned from her position as a Milwaukee County circuit judge two weeks after her conviction amid threats of impeachment from Republican state lawmakers. She had been a judge for nine years.
Dugan was present for Wednesday’s arguments but did not speak.
The Trump administration brought the case against Dugan as the president pressed ahead with his sweeping immigration crackdown. Trump’s administration and his allies branded Dugan as an activist judge, while Dugan’s attorneys said she was being unfairly targeted and argued, unsuccessfully, that she was immune from being charged because she was a judge.
Dugan’s case marked the first time that a state judge in Wisconsin went to trial on charges of obstructing immigration agents. She was acquitted of concealing an individual to prevent arrest, a misdemeanor.
Dugan helped an immigrant wanted by ICE agents
On April 18, 2025, immigration officers went to the Milwaukee County courthouse after learning Eduardo Flores-Ruiz had reentered the country illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a hearing in a state battery case.
Dugan confronted agents outside her courtroom and directed them to the chief judge’s office because she told them their administrative warrant wasn’t sufficient grounds to arrest Flores-Ruiz.
After the agents left, she led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a private jury door. Agents spotted Flores-Ruiz in the corridor, followed him outside and arrested him after a foot chase. A week later, FBI agents arrested Dugan in the courthouse, leading her outside in handcuffs.
In recent years, the security strategy and foreign policy of the United States have witnessed a fundamental transformation in their main principles, as demonstrated by the second US-Israeli war against Iran, which this author refers to as the “Second Iran War” to distinguish it from the first military confrontation between these three parties in the summer of 2025, known as the “Twelve-Day War.”
The leadership factor, represented by President Donald Trump, has become an unprecedentedly broad influence on the decision-making process related to US foreign policy and national security, whether concerning the declaration and conclusion of war, or even in peacetime, particularly regarding Washington’s relations with its traditional allies in Europe and the Middle East.
This analysis focuses on the case of the “Second Iran War” as a clear example of the increasing role of the US president’s personal characteristics in shaping strategic decisions related to this war and managing Washington’s relations with its partners in the Arabian Gulf region.
This analysis is divided into two main sections, as follows:
First, the traditional determinants of US security strategy and foreign policy.
Second, the Trump administration and the growing role of the president in foreign policy and national security.
Third, the Second Iran War as a model for the increasing influence of the leadership factor in the US decision-making process.
First, the traditional determinants of US security strategy and foreign policy:
There is a set of traditional constraints governing decision-making in the United States, both in domestic and foreign policy. These constraints stem intrinsically from the nature of the American political system, the constitutional and societal environment within which it operates, and the historical development of the nation some 250 years ago.
In summary, these constraints can be divided into the following:
1. Constitutional and historical constraints, including the federal constitution and the practical actions of foreign and security policy-making institutions over the past decades.
2. Institutional determinants, which consist of the roles exercised by the legislative, executive, and judicial branches as defined by the Constitution, including: Congress (the House of Representatives and the Senate), and the federal departments and agencies concerned with U.S. foreign policy and national security (the Departments of State and Defense, the National Security Council, and the various intelligence agencies, most notably the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)).
3. Political determinants, foremost among them the role played by the President of the United States in decision-making—what political literature calls the “leadership factor”—which is determined, broadly or narrowly, by a range of considerations, including: the President’s political experience, personal characteristics and interests, and ideological orientations, convictions, and personal preferences.
Traditionally, American historical experience indicates that constitutional and institutional constraints have a dominant influence on foreign policy and national security decision-making, compared to the limited influence of the president’s personal characteristics and psychological environment.
This has resulted in a near-consistency in the general direction of US foreign policy and security strategy across successive administrations, regardless of the president’s party affiliation (Democrat or Republican) or personality traits.
Second, the Trump administration and the growing role of the president in foreign policy and national security:
Unlike previous administrations, Republican President Donald Trump, since his first presidential term (2016-2020), has expanded his role in the decision-making process related to US foreign policy and its security strategy abroad, to the point of bypassing the federal institutions responsible for making this policy and strategy, or at the very least marginalizing the role of these institutions and failing to coordinate with them in advance in an unprecedented manner.
Trump’s interference in this regard, and his violation of institutional limits during his second presidential term, which began in January 2025, has increased to the point of causing great embarrassment to those in charge of American foreign and security policy-making institutions on the one hand, and on the other hand, it has led to pushing towards taking decisions – or at best adopting a declared political discourse – that has caused great damage to the foreign relations of the United States and posed a threat to its strategic interests as a superpower, whether with its immediate geographical neighborhood in the Americas (Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, and Cuba), or with its traditional transatlantic allies (Europe and NATO), and finally with important partners in the Middle East region.
Without going into detail about the reasons for this excessive interference by President Trump in American foreign policy and security strategy, in our estimation, this is largely due to the psychological and personal characteristics of the Republican president, whose political discourse and vocabulary indicate that he considers himself the “savior” of the United States and personally qualified to restore it to its glory, which he expresses in his election slogan “Make America Great Again.”
Third, the Second Iran War as a model for the increasing influence of the leadership factor in the US decision-making process:
The events of the second Iran-Iraq War, which began on February 28, 2016, provide a clear example of the growing influence of leadership dynamics, at the expense of constitutional and institutional constraints, in shaping and implementing American foreign policy and security strategy decisions under the Trump administration.
This assertion is supported by two key indicators, as follows:
1. Washington’s Decisions to Launch the War and the Negotiations Related to Ending It:
A close examination of Washington’s decision to launch the war against Iran on the morning of Saturday, February 28, 2026, reveals that President Trump based this decision on his personal convictions regarding the reliability of the reports and information provided to him by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – with whom he has a friendly and politically harmonious relationship – concerning the threat posed by Tehran’s nuclear program and its ballistic missile capabilities to Israel, America, and the region. He believed that the opportunity was ripe to quickly eliminate the religious regime in Iran by launching a powerful and swift military strike that would lead to its downfall after instigating an internal uprising.
In contrast, Trump ignored warnings from US foreign policy, national security, and defense institutions about the risks and feasibility of a war against Iran from the perspective of vital US interests in the Middle East. The Republican president also disregarded the reservations of senior administration officials regarding this military strike, including Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy for Middle East Peace Steve Wittkopf.
Further bolstering this claim are Trump’s attempts to deny that Israel pushed him into this war. He has asserted on more than one occasion that he made the decision himself, and even that he was the one who pushed Tel Aviv to engage in it. He has also emphasized on other occasions that the matter of negotiating and ending the war is solely his responsibility, and that Netanyahu is simply doing what he asks of him regarding the war with Iran.
According to the literature of political psychology and the principles of political communication, when politicians exaggerate their denial of something, or deny it without directly accusing them, it often confirms the accusation, not the other way around.
This claim is is further supported by reports in the US indicating that Trump sent the Israeli Prime Minister a draft memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran to end the war, as part of the US president’s consultations to reach a final decision on ending the conflict.
This means that Trump made his decision to wage war on Iran—and will most likely make his final decision regarding negotiations to end it—based on elements of his psychological environment and personality traits, and not on the factual data contained in the reports and recommendations of the foreign policy and national security agencies, which are based primarily on the strategic interests of the United States and its international and regional orientations.
2. The Harshness and Crudeness of US Presidential Rhetoric Towards Strategic Partners in the Arabian Gulf:
President Trump’s public political discourse since the start of the war has included statements characterized by an unprecedented level of harshness in American policy towards Washington’s strategic partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
For decades, the United States has maintained a balanced and rational approach to its relations with the Gulf states, a relationship cemented by strategic alliances and defense agreements since the 1991 Gulf War. This was true even during periods of open tension or simmering resentment between the US and some Gulf capitals.
In our estimation, this is explained by the fact that successive administrations and presidents in the White House have based their decisions, policies, and political discourse in general, and towards their allies and strategic partners in particular, on the constitutional and institutional parameters for drawing up and making Washington’s foreign policy and security strategy, especially in the vital geographical areas for national security and American strategic interests, as is the case with the Middle East region and at its heart the Arabian Gulf region.
However, in a departure from this approach and in an unprecedented move, the second Iran-Iraq War witnessed Trump’s political rhetoric, which included insults to some Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and belittling of others. He even went so far as to issue explicit and public threats against one of the Gulf Arab states, the Sultanate of Oman, in a surprising, shocking, and unprecedented act.
On May 28, 2016, Trump threatened Oman, saying he would “blow it up” if it cooperated with Iran on joint management of the Strait of Hormuz. The US Treasury Department also threatened to impose sanctions on Muscat if it proceeded with an agreement with Tehran to manage the strait, which Iran had used as a weapon of economic pressure during the war.
Conclusion:
The leadership factor, represented by the president’s personal characteristics, psychological environment, and political beliefs, has become the pivotal and most important factor in shaping US foreign policy and national security decisions during the administration of President Donald Trump, including the decision to go to war. This has come at the expense of the diminishing influence of other objective determinants, most notably constitutional and institutional ones.
This was clearly evident in Trump’s behavior and political rhetoric during the Second Iran War. This unprecedented development is likely to continue during the remaining two years of the Republican president’s term, until 2028.
The second Iran war demonstrated that such actions would negatively impact Washington’s future relations with its allies and strategic partners, or at the very least, erode trust in it as a reliable and credible international partner.
Furthermore, it would severely damage the prevailing image of the United States, both in the eyes of American and international public opinion, as an international superpower governed by institutions rather than individuals.
Tiki, an offshoot of the Midcentury Modern movement, flourished in the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s, but began to experience a decline in the ’70s. Thus, by the ’90s, there were concerns at Disney that the Enchanted Tiki Room — the pivotal 1963 attraction that pioneered audio-animatronics — was no longer in vogue, its singing birds, totems and flowers a relic of another era.
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The company explored some early concepts to remake the Enchanted Tiki Room. One idea was to transform it into an ecological, save-the-rainforest show. Another was to redesign it with a “Lion King” theme.
“Let me tell you, we hated it,” says artist and designer Kevin Kidney of the latter concept.
Kidney, who worked in Disneyland’s art department in the ’90s, says he and his longtime collaborator Jody Daily were “terrified” the Enchanted Tiki Room would disappear, so much so that they began making fliers to advertise the show and putting them up all over L.A., in restaurants, bars and museums. “We started an underground movement to save the Tiki Room even while we were working on these projects. We tried to frame it in a cool, hip way, like, ‘Everyone needs to go and re-experience this amazing show.’”
Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar took its influence from Disneyland’s Adventureland attractions, namely the Enchanted Tiki Room and the Jungle Cruise.
(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)
Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed, and the Enchanted Tiki Room remains to this day a vital piece of Disneyland history. And now with the modern tiki revival, it’s no longer an archival curiosity. In fact, the connection between Disney and tiki may be as strong as it has ever been, as this spring the Disneyland Hotel’s Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar turned 15. Trader Sam’s took its cues heavily from the Adventureland attraction, its bar flanked by tiki totems with slowly wandering eyes. And watching over guests and bartenders is a re-creation of one of the show’s tiki gods.
“The totem pole on the bar, and Koro up in the rafters above the bar, are all original designs and sculpts for the Tiki Room at Disneyland,” Kidney says. “They made new castings for the bar off of the elements from the attraction.”
Kidney and Daily collaborated with Walt Disney Imagineering, the arm of the company devoted to theme park experiences, on some of the early designs for Trader Sam’s. It’s their mug collection, for instance, that was seen in the bar on opening day. And the pair designed a magnificent glowing ship in a bottle, which thanks to a Pepper’s ghost illusion, occasionally looks as if it’s breaking apart and sinking.
Trader Sam’s, says author and historian Sven Kirsten, writer of “The Book of Tiki,” is one of the more influential bars on the modern tiki landscape. Though it didn’t kickstart today’s movement, says Kirsten, it often serves as “a gateway,” introducing Disney’s millions of guests to the scene.
Kirsten says Trader Sam’s has rightfully earned its place among SoCal’s most respected tiki bars. And most popular. An unofficial Instagram page devoted to the bar, keeping tabs on its mug releases and off-menu bartender creations, has more than 39,000 followers.
The erupting volcano “windows” of Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar.
(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)
“In the early 2010s the craft cocktail revival brought forth these so-called tiki bars that thought if they had a tiki cocktail menu they were a tiki bar,” Kirsten says. “But it was basket lamps and palm leaf wallpaper and that was it. Places like Trader Sam’s and Strong Water and Royal Hawaiian are floor-to-ceiling fully decorated. They’re what a tiki bar should be.”
Before the Disneyland Hotel had Trader Sam’s, the space was home to Hook’s Pointe, which was lightly themed to “Peter Pan.” Yet about a decade after the Walt Disney Co. completed a purchase to assume control of the Disneyland Hotel, Hook’s Pointe was earmaked for renovation.
“We were designing a Caribbean-style bar where Trader Sam’s is now, and that was where I said, ‘Let’s rethink this,’” said Kyle Barnes, an Imagineer who was instrumental in the creation of Trader Sam’s. Barnes was speaking at a recent event hosted by Disney’s fan club D23 on the history of Adventureland and Trader Sam’s.
“I said, ‘That’s more East Coast. This is West Coast.’ Hawaii and Midcentury really fit together with the tiki theme,” Barnes said, noting that the park’s Enchanted Tiki Room was initially pitched as a restaurant and once sat next to the Tahitian Terrace, a Polynesian-themed restaurant complete with hula dancers.
Trader Sam’s is home to many show elements. In addition to the sinking ship, there are bar seats that will begin to drop the longer guests sit in them. Also, there are two theatrical windows looking out toward a volcano, which will erupt when guests order a specific drink. The ship in a bottle and dipping barstools, said Barnes, were inspired by the Adventurers Club at Florida’s Walt Disney World, while the volcano windows were influenced by Florida’s version of the Enchanted Tiki Room.
The Kungaloosh cocktail at Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar.
(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)
The Adventurers Club closed in 2008, but I was fortunate enough to visit it as a child, and it was instrumental in my love of Disney, theater and, well, bars. Full of actors, puppets and walls filled with artifacts that seemed to spring to life, the Adventurers Club was a place of play, and I still remember as a kid being asked by one of the actors to join the imaginary guild. It was a glimpse into a grown-up world full of revelry, silliness and colorful cocktails.
Trader Sam’s fills a similar niche for me today, and as part of its 15th anniversary, it added the Adventurers Club signature drink, the sweetly tropical Kungaloosh, to its menu. As a kid, I longed to enter an adult world. As a grown-up, I love an adult world with a childlike playfulness.
Tiki bars aren’t perfect, and have occasionally come under criticism as escapist fantasy that appropriates Hawaiian or Polynesian iconography. As such, Trader Sam’s has changed over the years. Shrunken heads, for instance, that once hung from the walls, were years ago removed.
Progress, and part of Trader Sam’s enduring appeal. “The jokes that we accepted long ago, they were jokes for only a part of the population,” says Kidney.
And Trader Sam’s remains full of absurdities — spend some time just soaking up the puns and ephemera that dot the walls. Just be prepared to duck when you see the bartenders reach for a spray bottle.
So cheers to another 15 years, and I hope to see you at the bar.
This week in SoCal theme parks
Space Mountain at night.
(Paul Hiffmeyer / Disneyland Resort)
A refreshed cartoon world. Magic Mountain will on Saturday unveil its new kid-targeted Looney Tunes Land, which is a makeover of its previous Bugs Bunny-focused area. Expect a brand new live show, and spaces designed to represent the personality of characters such as Bugs, Daffy Duck, the Tasmanian Devil, and Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner. Each of the attractions, such as calming train and balloon rides, has received a tune-up. I’ll take a closer look next week!
‘The Odyssey’ comes to Universal. While theme park fans await the opening date of Universal Studios Hollywood’s new “Fast & Furious” coaster, the park is zooming ahead with its Mega Movie Summer promotion. As part of the latter, a ship from Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” will be added to the park’s tram tour. Elsewhere, Minions from “Minions & Monsters” will start meeting with guests, and various dining locations will receive light makeovers to represent films such as “Jaws” and the “Fast & Furious” franchise.
Changes afoot at CityWalk. Universal’s CityWalk is in the midst of a multiyear transformation. New spaces, such as one from Malibu Brewing Co., are on the way, while some legacy retailers are unfortunately disappearing. The latest: Publisher Dark Horse Comics is closing its Things From Another World retail location. The pop-culture shop is slated to close in September. No word yet on what may move into the space.
Space Mountain is back! After a brief overlay as the “Star Wars”-themed Hyperspace Mountain, Disneyland’s classic Space Mountain has returned just in time for the busy summer season. The coaster, which tops off at about 32 mph in near total darkness, should be back in all its vintage glory as of today.
A renewal perk. The Disneyland Resort in a move to create more loyalty among its Magic Key passholders is offering a bonus for those who opt to stick around for another year. A dining promotion, in which annual passholders can receive a dining gift card for as much as $100 if they choose to re-up, is underway through May of next year.
Tell us your stories. Ask us your questions.
Have a theme park tale to share? Whether it was a good day or less-than-perfect day, I would love to hear about it. Have a question? A tip? A fun photo from the parks to share? Email me at todd.martens@latimes.com. I may feature your note in an upcoming newsletter.
Ride on,
Todd Martens
P.S.
I’m curious if any longtime Disneyland fans have any memories of the Carousel of Progress. I’d love to hear them. The theater show, built around a rotating auditorium, debuted at the 1964 World’s Fair before making its way to Disneyland in 1967. It was moved to Florida’s Walt Disney World in 1975.
In case anyone missed it, the Walt Disney Co. announced last week that Carousel of Progress would be undergoing a top-to-bottom overhaul to update the show. No longer will it begin in the distant past, as the refreshed attraction will now start in the 1960s and take guests into the ’80s, the late ’90s and beyond. An ode to technological optimism, the original show was overseen by Walt Disney, but had undergone multiple changes throughout the decades, most notably in its final scene.
I’ll miss its glimpses of the 1920s and 1940s, but concede the attraction was notable today more for its Disney history than its cultural relevancy. Thus, I’m cautiously hopeful that this makeover can ensure the Carousel of Progress remains a Disney staple for decades to come.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has denied Bill Cosby’s request for a new trial after a civil jury recently found he was liable for $19 million in damages in a sexual assault case.
Judge Bradley S. Phillips ruled Friday that Cosby did not prove there was “any irregularity” in the court proceedings that would have prevented him from getting a fair trial and that the damages awarded to his accuser were not “excessive.”
“The Court finds that there was sufficient evidence … to support the jury’s finding that defendant’s conduct caused plaintiff’s damages,” Phillips wrote in Friday’s order.
In March, a jury awarded former waitress Donna Motsinger $19.25 million in damages after she sued Cosby in 2023, alleging that the disgraced comedian drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1972 after escorting her to one of his shows.
Motsinger, now 84, claimed Cosby picked her up at her home and gave her wine and a pill she thought was aspirin on the way to the venue.
“Next thing she knew, she was going in and out of consciousness while two men attending to Mr. Cosby were putting her in the limousine,” the original complaint said. “The last thing Ms. Motsinger recalls were flashes of light,” before waking up in her house in nothing but underwear.
Cosby has denied Motsinger’s allegations, as well as those brought by dozens of other women who said they had been drugged and sexually assaulted by the former actor. Cosby served about three years in a Pennsylvania prison on sexual assault charges before that case was overturned in 2021.
Cosby had filed a motion for a new trial in the Motsinger case in early April. Attorneys for Cosby did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Friday’s ruling.
Times staff writer Fedor Zarkhin contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether E. Jean Carroll, the longtime advice columnist who has said Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in a New York department store 30 years ago, lied during the course of civil litigation against the Republican president, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The person who confirmed the existence of the investigation was not authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing inquiry and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The perjury investigation is being led by the federal prosecutors’ office in Chicago, and acting Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche has had no involvement because of his prior work as Trump’s personal attorney, the person said.
Lawyers for Carroll did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Associated Press on Thursday.
It’s the latest in a series of investigations the Trump administration Justice Department has opened into perceived adversaries of the president. The actions, including securing an indictment last month against former FBI Director James Comey, have raised alarm from Democrats and former officials that an institution meant to make prosecutorial decisions independent of the White House is being weaponized.
Carroll has said a flirtatious, chance encounter with Trump in 1996 at Bergdorf Goodman’s Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan ended violently. She said Trump slammed her against a dressing room wall, pulled down her tights and forced himself on her. Trump has called the allegations a “made-up scam,” and he has attacked her motivations, saying they were politically driven or arose from a desire to promote her memoir.
A jury in 2023 found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll, awarding her $5 million. The following year, another jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in a defamation case related to Trump’s social media attacks on her.
The Justice Department is scrutinizing a statement Carroll made in the course of the civil litigation that no one else was paying her legal fees. It later became public that a Chicago-based organization backed by Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, had helped fund Carroll’s case. Trump’s lawyers in the civil case accused Carroll of concealing that information, which they said called into question whether the case was politically motivated.
A court entry earlier this month said Trump won’t have to pay the award until the U.S. Supreme Court gets a chance to review the case or reject an appeal. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to a request by one of Trump’s lawyers that it let the president delay the payment to Carroll, though it required that he post a $7.4 million bond to cover any additional interest costs, a request Carroll’s attorney had made.
The Carroll investigation was first reported by CNN.
Wander Franco is guilty of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl in 2023, a judge in the Dominican Republic made clear Monday.
Yet in his next breath, the same judge ruled that the former Tampa Bay Rays star shortstop will not be sentenced to prison because he was a victim of blackmail and extortion by the girl’s mother.
Celebrity justice in the D.R. can be perplexing, and Judge José Antonio Núñez admitted as much. But he also contended that the judicial pardon he granted Franco was the result of “logical and legal reasoning.”
“It seems contradictory to declare criminal responsibility and, at the same time, exempt him from punishment,” Núñez said. “The court has granted Wander Franco a judicial pardon due to the particular circumstances that made him a material victim, but not a legal one.”
The court found that the girl’s mother extorted thousands of dollars from Franco. The woman was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of commercial sexual exploitation of a minor and money laundering.
The odds are long that Franco will return to Major League Baseball any time soon. The fact that the court found him guilty of repeatedly having sex with a minor puts him squarely in violation of MLB’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.
The league is in the midst of an investigation into Franco’s conduct.
“We respect the legal process and the decision issued by the court,” the Rays said in a statement. “This is a serious matter, and our thoughts remain with those affected by the case.
“The Rays will continue to cooperate fully with Major League Baseball as it completes its review under the league’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. Out of respect for the legal process and all parties involved, we will have no further comment at this time.”
Franco’s situation serves as a cautionary tale for MLB teams that hand out long-term contracts years before players become free agents. The Rays signed a 20-year-old Franco to an 11-year, $182 million deal in November 2021 after he batted .288 with 30 extra-base hits in 70 games as a rookie.
Franco appeared on his way to stardom during a stellar 2023 season, but according to court filings he carried on a relationship with the 14-year-old victim for several months.
An investigation was launched in August 2023. Franco was arrested Jan. 1, 2024, after failing to appear before Dominican authorities who sought to interview him.
Tampa Bay placed him on the restricted list early in the 2024 season, voiding his contract.
Franco was found guilty in a June 2025 trial. Although prosecutors sought a five-year prison sentence, he was given only a two-year suspended sentence by Justice Jakayra Veras.
“Look at us, Wander,” Veras said in open court. “Do not approach minors for sexual purposes. If you don’t like people very close to your age, you have to wait your time.”
An appeals court in December ordered a new trial, which took place Monday and resulted in his pardon.
“Thank God for everything,” Franco said as he embraced his mother, Nancy Aybar, after Judge Nuñez announced the pardon.
As he departed the courthouse, Franco was asked by a reporter how he felt.
WASHINGTON — A Justice Department indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center is part of a “top-down” campaign of retribution against President Trump’s perceived political enemies and constitutes a vindictive prosecution that must be dismissed, lawyers for the nonprofit argued Tuesday in urging a judge to toss out the case.
The Alabama-based nonprofit was indicted in April on fraud and money laundering charges that accuse it of misleading donors by paying informants inside white supremacist and other extremist organizations to obtain inside information about their activities.
Lawyers for the SPLC already argued that law enforcement agencies have long known that the nonprofit paid informants to report on the movements of hate groups. They also said acting Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche made a false statement at a news conference and in interviews when he said the organization had not shared with law enforcement information it learned from informants. Blanche later appeared to walk back that claim in a television interview, saying it was true that the SPLC “selectively” shared information with law enforcement over the years.
The attorneys for the center expanded on those arguments Tuesday, saying in a motion to dismiss the case that the prosecution was the “culmination of a top-down, retributive campaign” in which Trump pushed the Justice Department “to go after those individuals and groups he deemed his political enemies, including the SPLC.”
The motion was filed against the backdrop of other politically charged prosecutions that have raised concerns that the Justice Department is operating as a weapon to target Trump’s opponents. It aims to draw a parallel between the SPLC indictment and the human smuggling prosecution of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, which was dismissed Friday on similar vindictive prosecution grounds by a judge who called the case an “abuse of prosecuting power.”
The SPLC has said its now-defunct program of paying informants to infiltrate hate groups was developed to glean key insights into their activities so that potential victims could be protected. An earlier federal investigation into the practice was closed without charges, but the motion paints the current Justice Department as pursuing the case with renewed — and rushed — vigor.
The department decided to pursue the indictment without interviewing any current SPLC employees and did not seek any documents from the group until after it told defense lawyers that criminal charges were coming, the defense motion states. During a meeting requested by defense lawyers who hoped to avert to indictment, Justice Department officials informed them that the decision already had been made to pursue charges, according to the motion.
“These procedural irregularities show that the charges against the SPLC were a foregone conclusion based on prosecutorial vindictiveness — driven by the White House and FBI leadership’s retribution campaign — rather than the result of a good faith examination of the evidence,” the motion states, saying the indictment was “premised on conclusory accusations but devoid of provable facts or a proper statement of the law.”
The motion also cites whistleblower accounts that accused top Justice Department officials of rushing forward with an indictment despite internal concerns about the merits of the case and the strength of the evidence.
“For weeks, we have been arguing against these false allegations levied against the SPLC — an organization that for 55 years has stood as a beacon of hope fighting white supremacy and various forms of injustice to create a multiracial democracy where we can all live and thrive,” Bryan Fair, the interim president and chief executive officer of SPLC, said in a statement. “The government can’t prosecute the SPLC as payback for its protected speech — it violates basic constitutional rights.”
The administration has painted SPLC as partisan
Founded in 1971 as a civil rights organization, the SPLC over the decades has used litigation to fight white supremacist groups. It also tracks the activities and locations of domestic extremists. But its work has made it a popular target among Republicans who see it as overly leftist and partisan.
The center, for instance, received fresh attention last year after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk because the SPLC had included a section on the group that Kirk founded and led, Turning Point USA, in a report titled “The Year in Hate and Extremism 2024.”
FBI Director Kash Patel announced in October that the bureau would be severing its relationship with the SPLC, saying it had turned into a “partisan smear machine,” and he accused it of defaming “mainstream Americans” with its “hate map” that documents alleged antigovernment and hate groups inside the United States.
The defense motion says “animus” from senior levels of the administration helped shape the indictment.
It cites, among other comments, a statement from Trump deriding the SPLC as “a total scam run by the Democrats,” as well as a news media interview in which Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s top civil rights official, said the indictment was “personal” to her because she had “a lot of journalist friends … and groups that I’ve represented who have been targeted by the Southern Poverty Law Center.”
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Florida’s long-shot attempt to sue California and Washington state over the issuance of commercial driver licenses to truckers who don’t speak English and are not authorized to be in the United States.
The case stems from a crash in Florida last year that killed three people. The driver, Harjinder Singh, is accused of making an illegal U-turn that caused the accident. Singh, who is from India, was carrying a valid commercial driver’s license from California and had earlier been granted one by Washington state.
Republican-led Florida has accused the Western states, led by Democrats, of openly defying immigration laws and asked the justices to rule that states lack the authority to issue CDLs to people who are not citizens or legal permanent residents.
The Supreme Court typically hears appeals of lower-court decisions, but it sometimes takes on what are known as original lawsuits in which states sue each other in the nation’s highest court.
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented from Tuesday’s order, as they often do when the court rejects an original lawsuit, saying that the court has no choice but to hear such cases.
Separately, a federal appeals court has blocked a Trump administration proposal to impose new restrictions that would severely limit which immigrants can get commercial driver’s licenses to drive a semitrailer truck or bus.
Disneyland is no stranger to patriotism. Reflecting America — both its positives and its “hard facts,” to quote park founder Walt Disney — was part of its mission statement.
Over the years, the Walt Disney Co. in its parks has become more focused on its IP — that is, its film and television properties — rather than looking beyond its gates. But remnants from Disneyland’s past remain. The park still hosts a daily flag retreat, a respectful, music-focused ceremony often with the Dapper Dans and the Disneyland Band to honor veterans. Then there’s the animatronic show “Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln,” which is an inspiring, vital work of theme park theater. Using snippets of Lincoln’s most timeless speeches, it illustrates how words can unite rather than divide us, a rarity in today’s partisan-heavy landscape.
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I’ve never believed Disney should stay out of politics. I’d argue that’s impossible, anyway, as all art is political. What a company shows — or chooses to leave out of its content — is a reflection of its values.
This summer, Disneyland is leaning all the way into its patriotic tendencies. A Sam Eagle popcorn bucket, complete with a Fourth of July-style stars and stripes cap, is on the way. And the centerpiece of the festivities will arrive July 2, which is when the Disney California Adventure staple Soarin’ Over California transforms into Soarin’ Across America. Key locations on the hang gilder simulator will include Mount Rushmore National Monument, the Washington Monument, the Statue of Liberty and the Hollywood sign, among many a national park.
Soarin’ Across America shows aerial vistas across the United States, and it’s arriving at a divisive moment in our nation’s political history.
(Disney Parks)
Though designed to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country’s founding, it’s impossible to ignore that it’s coming at a divisive time in the U.S. Soarin’ Across America’s poster art, as I noted last year when the new version of the attraction was announced, made me cringe, as it features a Statue of Liberty juxtaposed with the American flag and bald eagle — art that conveys a sense of nationalistic pride. In 2026, such emotions are complicated. Our country is disrupting the world, ICE raids have shattered our communities and just the other day, our president was effectively shielded from examination of his finances and legal conduct.
So please forgive me if I don’t exactly want to don the red, white and blue right now. Soarin’ Across America feels like the excited guest showing up to a wedding that’s only happening because the couple can’t get their deposit back.
While I do want to cheer its representation of our national parks — spaces that need all the positive publicity they can get right now, thanks to the administration’s budget cuts and layoffs — I wonder about the inclusion, of, say, Mount Rushmore, which has a long, controversial history, and has been a fascination of President Trump’s.
I’m skeptical, in short, as to how Soarin’ Across America will be read at this moment, a time when many are questioning the relevancy of patriotism and loyalty to a flag. So I was eager to discuss these thoughts with veteran Imagineer Tom Fitzgerald, an executive creative director who recently worked on Main Street, U.S.A.’s Walt Disney animatronic show, who met with me last week.
An attraction poster for Soarin’ Across America released via the Walt Disney Co.’s corporate media site.
(The Walt Disney Co. )
I asked him about potential discomfort around Soarin’ Across America’s patriotic displays. He lightly pushed back, arguing in essence that’s why the attraction is necessary.
“I think we were taking the opposite approach, the optimistic approach, which is what Disney is all about,” Fitzgerald says.
“How can we do something that will help us all celebrate?” he continues. “I know personally when I saw the Artemis II mission recently, I felt like we all came together and said what an astonishing achievement. We were all rooting, going up and coming down. I think that’s more what we wanted to do. Let’s just do a portrait of America, and let the guests go in and just enjoy it. … Let’s just let the audience come in without any preconceived notions and enjoy this four-and-a-half-minute journey.”
I did ask a follow-up, wanting to hear about the conversations that were had at Imagineering to ensure this ride wouldn’t be seen as political, even as it is showing locations such as Mount Rushmore, often a site of protests and criticism from Native Americans.
“I think for us, it’s like, go for the iconic place, and keep it all in the Soarin’ style, with the big music, hang gliding,” Fitzgerland says. “Just make it a journey that just flows from coast to coast.”
A coastal scene from Soarin’ Across America.
(Disney Parks)
Fitzgerald says the ride came together in exactly 12 months, making it a relatively fast, time-crunched project. Yet that also means Disney was aware of the heightened cultural environment it was entering.
The attraction is already open at Florida’s Walt Disney World but I don’t believe in reviewing rides via point-of-view videos, so I’m waiting until July 2 to experience it here. When it lands in Anaheim, I hope I find it an empowering, uplifting work. A number of its locations, including our own Griffith Park, or the Grand Canyon West, Denali National Park, a Maine lighthouse and more, are a reminder of our park wonders. It’s in these scenes that I believe Soarin’ Across American will thrive, and become that “portrait or tapestry of crossing America” that Fitzgerald describes.
Also important: The attraction is a reminder that a theme park such as Disney California Adventure is not so much an escape as an idealized reflection of what is happening beyond its borders. Theme park additions don’t happen in a vacuum, and I applaud its designers for continuing to take risks, especially when they don’t involve pop-culture IP (the IP being explored here is America).
And if Soarin’ Across America can inspire a few trips into our great outdoors, whether that’s an afternoon at the Griffith Observatory or that Grand Canyon trip you’ve been putting off, I’ll take that as a win. But it would have been fine with me if the red, white and blue fireworks had been left in the editing bay.
This week in SoCal theme parks
Halloween season is coming soon. Universal Studios Hollywood announced this week one of its first major haunted houses for 2026’s Halloween Horror Nights.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
“Sinners” is coming to Halloween Horror Nights. Ryan Coogler’s sexy, scary, music-heavy and politically-infused vampire film “Sinners” is getting the Halloween Horror Nights treatment at Universal Studios Hollywood. The 2025 Warner Bros. Pictures flick is set in the 1930s, and its Horror Nights haunted house will take guests into the film’s bluesy Club Juke. The would-be-safe haven, however, becomes anything but. I’m excited, but I do hope Universal is able to touch on some of the topicality and cultural commentary of the film. Halloween Horror Nights is currently set to launch on Sept. 3.
Become a Disneyland ‘park ranger.’ Theme parks are stages, and I love when designers create activities to inspire play or exploration. And Disneyland has done just that this summer with its “Mickey’s Park Rangers” activity book. The free, 33-page booklet, available from retail shops near Disneyland’s Rivers of America, is full of puzzles, factoids (I honestly didn’t know there were catfish in the park’s river) and some light scavenger-hunt-like quests. The last will take players through Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island, the boats of Rivers of America and the Disneyland Railroad. All told, it’s an excellent way to slow down, play some games and rediscover historic aspects of Disneyland.
Do puzzles, see some apes. The Los Angeles Zoo on Saturday is hosting a special, game-focused puzzle adventure focused on its ape exhibits. “Zoo Quest: Amazing Apes” is an after-hours event in which participants will work in teams to solve puzzles across the zoo grounds, in this case zeroing in on the park’s ape habitats. The tasks will gradually reveal various ape facts as well as tip guests to the zoo’s conservation efforts. Tickets are $35 for those 12 and older, and $30 for those ages 2-11.
Park hop to your heart’s content. The Disneyland Resort revealed that on June 9 it is eliminating a rule that prevents park hopping between the Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure before 11 a.m. Guests will still need to make a reservation at one of the Disney parks, but will be able to check in at either park, subject, of course, to availability. This is a positive development, essentially eliminating a pandemic-era rule and allowing guests who pay for the park hopper upgrade to freely move between locales.
The best thing I ate at the parks
A grilled cheese from the Grand Californian’s Hearthstone Lounge.
(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)
The signature restaurant at the Disneyland Resort is the Grand Californian’s Napa Rose. But don’t sleep on the hotel’s Hearthstone Lounge, which accepts walk-ups and reservations (bar seats can be hard to come by). Its relaxed casual atmosphere has made it one of my regular stops when at the park for a full day, and its menu ranges from the informal (sandwiches, pizza) to the more upscale (a $72 New York steak). I tend to lean to the former, and opted for the restaurant’s $21 grilled cheese sandwich on a recent visit. With Parmesan-crusted toast, it feels decadent but isn’t too filling, as bits of bacon, arugula and tomato balance out its mildly sweet and not-too-heavy Point Reyes Toma cheese filling.
Tell us your stories. Ask us your questions.
Have a theme park tale to share? Whether it was a good day or less-than-perfect day, I would love to hear about it. Have a question? A tip? A fun photo from the parks to share? Email me at todd.martens@latimes.com. I may feature your note in an upcoming newsletter.
Ride on,
Todd Martens
P.S.
“Mouse P.I. for Hire” is a recent video game in a vintage, 1930s-inspired animation style.
(Fumi Games / PlaySide Studios)
One of my non-theme park passions is video games, and I think Disney fans who also enjoy interactive entertainment may want to give a recent release a close look. “Mouse: P.I. for Hire,” essentially available on all platforms, is a well done lighthearted first-person shooter with some stylistic thought behind it. It’s gorgeous, a black-and-white game in the 1930s cartoon feel, and it’s filled with many a sight gag that wouldn’t have been out of place in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.”
Its tone is of a noir film, and begins with a missing persons mystery while gradually spinning out to reveal a world full of of fascist, evil mice. When it comes to gameplay, it’s a bit old-fashioned, focusing on the cartoonish aspects of video game shooting rather than anything realistic. It’s good fun and a bit silly, and I like to think of it as something that an alternate world Disney could have dreamed up.
WASHINGTON — Last June 16, armed immigration agents broke the locks to forcibly enter an Oxnard auto body shop. Juan Carlos Ramirez, a U.S. citizen, filmed as they arrested his father.
Then the agents pepper-sprayed Ramirez, slammed him onto the hoods of two vehicles, punched his face and kneed him in the side, according to a legal claim he later filed against the federal government.
Local attorney Vanessa Valdez denounced Ramirez’s arrest at an Oxnard City Council meeting the next day. The following month, Valdez found herself in a similar situation when agents raided the cannabis company Glass House Farms.
Despite identifying herself as a legal observer, she said, agents — or possibly National Guard — deployed tear gas and shot her six times with rubber bullets. She ran and then, unable to see, crawled on all fours to escape.
Vanessa Valdez, a Ventura-based attorney, has filed a claim against the federal government, alleging she was hit with tear gas and six rubber bullets during the Glass House Farms raid last July.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
“They were just shooting aimlessly, it seemed like,” she said. “I thought maybe they had fractured a rib because that’s how painful it was. I couldn’t sleep face down for three weeks.”
Ramirez and Valdez are among the dozens of U.S. citizens and immigrants who are seeking financial compensation for damages they say they suffered during President Trump’s immigration dragnet. For Valdez, that includes the cost of hospital visits, lost wages as she recovered, anxiety medication and seeing a therapist.
After reviewing public accounts and legal documents and interviews with more than a dozen lawyers and immigrants, The Times found that claimants from across the country are seeking at least $260 million.
In a statement, Homeland Security spokesperson Lauren Bis wrote that ICE officers are held to the highest professional standard and receive regular training. Bis said that when agents are faced with danger, they use their training to protect themselves and the public.
“The pattern is NOT of law enforcement using force. It’s a pattern of violent agitators attacking our law enforcement,” she wrote.
Asked about Valdez, Bis said law enforcement deployed chemical irritants including pepper balls, but not rubber bullets, after agitators attempted to breach the perimeter at Glass House Farms. She said Ramirez refused officer’s commands and physically attacked them, so they pepper-sprayed him in self-defense.
Lawyers who are experts in tort claims said the bureaucratic process is lengthy and complex, and any damage award would likely be lower than what a claimant is seeking.
Still, seeking redress through the Federal Tort Claims Act is one of the few legal remedies available for those seeking financial compensation for deaths, physical injuries, emotional trauma, unlawful detention or property damage caused by federal employees.
The number of claims is expected to rise.
Federal agents, some wearing street clothes and some wearing uniforms and protective gear, form a defensive line against hundreds of protesters outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles on Jan. 30.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
In recent months, advocacy organizations have prepared practice advisories for attorneys interested in filing tort claims, and law groups across the country have begun holding training sessions on the process.
“There is no question in my mind that a lot of people — hundreds, thousands — have been harmed significantly and will be legally entitled to large damages payouts, which are going to come from the federal government,” said Jonathan Feinberg, a Philadelphia-based attorney.
Feinberg, who specializes in cases involving excessive use of force by police and abuses of detained immigrants, is president of the board of directors for the National Police Accountability Project, which focuses on law enforcement misconduct.
“We’re going to be talking about Minneapolis in 2030,” he added.
Before they can sue in federal court, individuals must first request a review by the agency that they say is responsible, such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection. The agency has six months to respond and deny the claim or offer a settlement.
If the agency doesn’t respond or denies a claim, the claimant can then file suit.
Unlike civil rights lawsuits, in which juries decide the verdict, in tort cases, judges make that call. Only the agencies are named as defendants, not individuals.
The Times reviewed the claims of nearly 80 people filed since the start of 2025. The vast majority remain in the review stage. Lawyers anticipate most will not be settled, unleashing a flood of lawsuits starting this summer.
Federal law since 1871 has established that people can sue state and local officials for violating their constitutional rights. But the law left out federal actors.
One hundred years later, the Supreme Court allowed for damages lawsuits against federal officials who violate a person’s civil rights, though decisions in recent years have substantially narrowed that ability.
Democrats in California are pursuing legislation that would make it easier for residents to seek financial damages for constitutional violations committed by federal agents. Similar laws were already enacted in Maryland, Illinois and Connecticut, though the Trump administration has sued to block the latter two.
But there is a different route — tort claims.
Tort cases can be difficult to win, in part because the government can claim a “discretionary function exception,” which shields the agency from liability when the situation involves a policy-driven judgment call.
“So that’s what a lot of plaintiff’s lawyers are really anxious about, that the Trump administration is going to say, ‘Well, we’ve got our own immigration policies. Of course a lot of people disagree with them, but the statute is designed to give us the right to make those policy judgments,’” said Benjamin Zipursky, a Fordham University law professor who studies torts.
“Now, if I were the plaintiff’s lawyer, I would say, ‘Yeah, but shooting somebody in cold blood because you’re just mad about their political views, and they’re not really threatening your life at all — that’s not a policy judgment,’” he said.
The law office of John Burris, an Oakland-based attorney who represented Rodney King after he was severely beaten by Los Angeles police officers in 1991, has taken on damages clients in Minnesota. He said he anticipates filing around 80 tort claims stemming from the immigration enforcement actions there.
A memorial for Renee Good at the location where she was fatally shot in Minneapolis.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Burris said the experience has given him flashbacks to the period before King’s beating and the subsequent protests over police brutality, when officers felt they could act with impunity.
“There’s 1779798656 a more fundamental understanding that bad stuff does happen,” he said. “Everyday people are not as willing as they once were to just accept a police officer’s perspective.”
Public disapproval over immigration enforcement rose after federal immigration agents in Minneapolis shot and killed two 37-year-old U.S. citizens, Renee Good, a mother of three, and Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, in separate incidents.
Other deaths took place before the Minnesota operation: 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez, who was killed by an ICE agent in Texas who fired repeatedly through the open window of his car; Keith Porter, 43, who was killed in Los Angeles by an off-duty ICE agent after shooting his gun into the air on New Year’s Eve; and Jaime Alanis Garcia, 57, who fell 30 feet from atop a greenhouse while fleeing agents at the Glass House Farms site in Camarillo.
Lawyers for the families of Good, Martinez and Garcia confirmed they are pursuing tort claims. Lawyers for the other families did not respond to requests for comment.
Additional highly publicized cases have also resulted in tort claims: Marimar Martinez, who was shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in Chicago; Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University student and Palestinian rights activist who spent 104 days detained after the administration labeled him a national security threat; Aliya Rahman, a disabled woman on her way to a doctor’s appointment in Minneapolis who blacked out at a detention facility after ICE agents detained her.
New claims appear to be filed weekly. Seventeen men, women and children who were detained in a military-style raid at a Chicago apartment complex filed claims this month seeking about $5 million each.
In many of the cases, Bis said, the claimants impeded or assaulted agents. Pretti’s death remains under investigation, she said.
Willy Wender Aceituno stands in the parking lot where he was arrested last November by ICE agents in Charlotte, N.C.
(Jesse Barber / For The Times)
Willy Wender Aceituno was already a plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit filed by the ACLU of North Carolina challenging the policy allowing warrantless immigration arrests after he was stopped twice in a span of minutes by immigration agents last November. In March, he also submitted a tort claim.
Aceituno is a Honduran-born U.S. citizen who voted for Trump. On the day he was arrested, a group of masked agents checked his identification and left. Aceituno then filmed as a second group surrounded his red truck.
“If you break it, you will pay for it,” he tells them in Spanish seconds before one agent smashes the window with a baton. “Why did you do that, sir?”
Aceituno suffered cuts when agents threw him to the ground, which was covered in shattered glass. They placed him in an SUV with other detainees and drove him around Charlotte, N.C., before releasing him, still bleeding, more than 2 miles from his vehicle.
The moment brought back Aceituno’s childhood memory of watching his father be arrested by the Honduran military and disappeared.
“I remember they broke down the door, entered, put him in handcuffs and threw him to the ground,” he said. “I thought, ‘It’s happening again.’ To see the other Hispanics in the car made it feel like this is racial persecution. This is about skin, not criminality.”
Bis, the Homeland Security spokesperson, said Aceituno acted erratically, escalated the situation and refused to comply with officers’ commands.
Lawyers said many people, especially immigrants, who have viable claims have chosen not to pursue them out of fear of being targeted for deportation. Some were deported before they could sue.
“Even now, our clients wake up some days thinking, ‘What am I doing suing the federal government?’” said Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, executive director of the Massachusetts-based Lawyers for Civil Rights. “You have to have a lot of courage to be able to stand up against an administration that has put a bull’s-eye on you and that has targeted you based on your identity.”
Others have turned to mutual aid or online fundraisers to pay for medical bills or to repair property damage. On the website GoFundMe, donation campaigns describe shattered car windows, broken limbs, head trauma and mounting bills.
Some damage can’t be fully recompensated, Espinoza-Madrigal added.
Members of the Haitian community hold signs in support for the extension of Temporary Protected Status during a rally last month in Miami.
(Carl Juste / Miami Herald / Getty Images)
One of the organization’s clients is Jose Pineda, a Salvadoran man with Temporary Protected Status. A year ago, Pineda was stopped by ICE officers on his way to work in East Boston as a landscaper. They wouldn’t accept his Social Security and work authorization cards as proof enough that he was not deportable, and detained him without explanation, according to his tort claim.
So Pineda spent nearly two days in a holding cell at the ICE Boston Field Office with around 50 other people. He couldn’t sit or sleep and received minimal water and food.
Bis said agents “briefly questioned” Pineda because he matched the description of the subject of an operation, and that he was released after being identified.
When he was released, the claim alleges, his documents were returned but $600 in cash that he was saving to pay rent was not. The incident left him with frequent headaches, anxiety and memory loss, and exacerbated his gastritis. His absence from work resulted in a demotion from lead foreman to an assistant role.
“Whenever I drive, if someone stays behind me for three, four or five minutes, I start to imagine that it’s them again,” he said in an interview.
Pineda’s arrest also caused recurring nightmares that leave him shouting and thrashing around in bed. Out of fear that he could inadvertently harm his wife, they now sleep in separate beds.
NASHVILLE — A federal judge on Friday dismissed a human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, finding that the Justice Department’s pursuit of criminal charges was designed to punish him for challenging his mistaken deportation to El Salvador last year.
The ruling amounted to an extraordinary rebuke of a Justice Department that under President Trump has repeatedly been accused of targeting defendants for political purposes. The Trump administration touted the charges against Abrego Garcia last year at a press conference in which then-Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi declared, “This is what American justice looks like.”
“The evidence before this court sadly reflects an abuse of prosecuting power,” U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw, in Nashville, said in his ruling granting Abrego Garcia’s motion to dismiss for “selective or vindictive prosecution.” Without Abrego Garcia’s “successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the government would not have brought this prosecution.”
Abrego Garcia’s deportation became an embarrassment for Trump officials when they were ordered to return him to the U.S. In his motion to dismiss, Abrego Garcia claimed that the timing of the criminal charges and inflammatory statements about him by top Trump officials demonstrated that the prosecution was vindictive.
“Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a victim of a politicized, vindictive White House and its lawyers at what used to be an independent Justice Department,” his criminal defense attorneys said in a statement after Friday’s ruling. “We are so pleased that he is a free man.”
The Justice Department vowed to appeal, calling the judge’s order “wrong and dangerous.”
Crenshaw stopped short of finding the government acted with “actual vindictiveness,” a rarely met standard that usually requires evidence like a prosecutor admitting that charges were filed in retaliation against someone. But the judge did find there was enough evidence of “presumptive vindictiveness” — including the timing of the indictment, statements made by then-U.S. Deputy Aty. Gen. Todd Blanche, and the sustained oversight of the case by other top Justice Department officials — that the case against Abrego Garcia was thoroughly tainted.
The government’s own explanations weren’t convincing, Crenshaw wrote.
Abrego Garcia was charged with human smuggling and conspiracy to commit human smuggling, with prosecutors claiming that he accepted money to transport within the United States people who were in the country illegally.
The charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee for speeding. Body camera footage from a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer shows a calm exchange with Abrego Garcia. There were nine passengers in the car, and the officers discussed among themselves their suspicions of smuggling. However, Abrego Garcia was eventually allowed to continue driving with only a warning.
In the Friday ruling, Crenshaw wrote that the timing of the charges was central to the presumption of vindictiveness. Homeland Security had been aware of the traffic stop for two years and had closed the case against Abrego Garcia when it deported him. Once the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that he should be brought back to the U.S., they reopened the case. While the government bore the responsibility to rebut the presumption of vindictiveness, prosecutors did not call as a witness the person who reopened the case, to explain why. Instead they offered only “secondhand testimony.”
In a statement released by the group We are CASA, which has been supporting Abrego Garcia and his family, he thanked God for the dismissal of the criminal charges.
“Justice is a big word and an even bigger promise to fulfill; and I am grateful that today, justice has taken a step forward,” he said.
Abrego Garcia’s deportation violated a 2019 immigration court order granting him protection from deportation to his home country, after the judge found he faced danger there from a gang that targeted his family. Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran citizen with an American wife and child who has lived in Maryland for years although he immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager. The 2019 order allowed him to live and work in the U.S. under Immigration and Customs Enforcement supervision, but he was not given residency status.
Meanwhile, Trump administration officials have said Abrego Garcia cannot remain in the U.S. They have vowed to deport him to a third country, most recently Liberia.
NEW YORK — Former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene after a federal appeals court on Friday declined to reconsider a decision that put the government a step closer to deporting him, the pro-Palestinian activist’s lawyers said.
Judges on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia voted 6-5 against having the court’s full complement of judges review the ruling. In January, a three-judge 3rd Circuit panel found that a federal judge in New Jersey who had sided with Khalil and ordered his release last year from immigration detention didn’t have jurisdiction to decide the matter.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which is involved in representing Khalil, said his lawyers will ask the 3rd Circuit for an order preventing the decision from taking effect — and barring Khalil from being detained or deported — while it asks the Supreme Court to take up the case.
An appeal to the high court is expected in the coming months, possibly in late summer.
“Today’s decision is not the final word, and we still strongly believe in our arguments going forward,” ACLU senior counsel Brett Max Kaufman said in a statement.
In its January ruling, the 3rd Circuit found that Khalil’s lawsuit challenging his detention and U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz’s subsequent rulings in the case were premature because federal law requires that such challenges first move through the separate immigration court system. That system is part of the Justice Department, not the judicial branch.
The decision didn’t decide the key issue in Khalil’s case: whether the Trump administration’s effort to throw Khalil out of the U.S. over his campus activism and criticism of Israel is unconstitutional.
Judge Cheryl Ann Krause, who had voted for the 3rd Circuit to review the decision, wrote in a dissent that the court was “abdicating our duty to meaningfully review Khalil’s constitutional claims. The Judicial Branch, she wrote, cannot fulfill its role as a check on the other branches of government, “if we write ourselves out of relevance and leave the Executive Branch to check itself.”
Khalil, 31, has also appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana, where he was detained, after the Board of Immigration Appeals upheld his removal order.
Through his lawyers, Khalil argued that the immigration judge who issued the order failed to consider relevant evidence and wrongly upheld a charge that he had misrepresented information on his application for legal permanent resident status. That charge, Khalil’s lawyers said, was brought in retaliation for his protest activity.
The immigration judge suggested Khalil could be deported to Algeria, where he maintains citizenship through a distant relative, or Syria, where he was born in a refugee camp to a Palestinian family. Khalil’s lawyers have said he would face mortal danger if forced to return to either country.
An outspoken leader of the pro-Palestinian movement at Columbia, Khalil was arrested in March 2025. He then spent three months detained in a Louisiana immigration jail, missing the birth of his child.
Federal officials have accused Khalil of leading activities “aligned to Hamas,” though they have not presented evidence to support the claim and have not accused him of criminal conduct. They also accused Khalil of failing to disclose information on his green card application.
Khalil has dismissed the allegations as “baseless and ridiculous,” framing his arrest and detention as a “direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza.”
The government justified the arrest under a seldom-used statute that allows for the expulsion of noncitizens whose beliefs are deemed to pose a threat to U.S. foreign policy interests. In June 2025, Farbiarz ruled that justification would likely be declared unconstitutional and ordered Khalil released.
President Trump’s administration appealed that ruling, arguing the deportation decision should fall to an immigration judge, rather than a federal court. The 3rd Circuit ruled 2-1 in the administration’s favor.
Judge Emil Bove, who was involved in investigating student protesters while a top Justice Department official, did not participate in the 3rd Circuit vote on whether to review the decision. He later issued an order denying a request by Khalil’s lawyers that he step aside from the matter, calling it moot.
Sisak writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.
