California
Federal officials investigate after a video appears to show a person kicking a sea lion
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Federal wildlife authorities are investigating after a video appeared to show a person kicking a protected sea lion at a beach in California.
A spokesperson for the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed an ongoing investigation into the incident but declined to provide additional details Sunday.
The video appears to show a person throwing kicks at the sea lion at La Jolla Cove in San Diego as at least one other person can be heard laughing in the background. The person follows the sea lion, throwing more kicks at the animal as it tries to scoot away before the video ends.
“NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement is investigating reports of a video on social media that shows an interaction between an individual and sea lion, allegedly in La Jolla Cove,” a spokesperson for the agency said. “In the video, the individual appears to be kicking the sea lion. This is an ongoing investigation, and we cannot provide further details at this time.”
The person in the video has not been publicly identified.
Sea lions are federally protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s guidelines say that people should stay at least 50 feet (15 meters) away from sea lions, seals and other species protected by the act.
“This disgusting act of animal cruelty is unacceptable,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said in a post on X.
Washington
Comey says seashells post was political speech as he presses to dismiss charges
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former FBI Director James Comey urged a judge on Monday to throw out federal charges against him, arguing that a photo of seashells arranged on a beach he posted on social media was not a call to violence against President Donald Trump but protected political speech.
Comey’s lawyers argue the government cannot prove the Instagram photo of seashells in the numerical arrangement of “86 47” constituted a “true threat” against the Republican president, who fired Comey in 2017 and has publicly called for his prosecution. The slogan — which has long meant to “get rid of” or “eject” — has been featured on thousands of items sold online and regularly displayed at protests, defense lawyers wrote.
“But the government now singles out Mr. Comey to prosecute one of the President’s most prominent critics for publishing another person’s statement of political opposition over a social media photo of seashells arranged on a beach,” his attorney’s wrote. “That attempt to suppress core political speech contravenes both the statutes at issue and the First Amendment.”
The seashells case against Comey was the second in months targeting the ex-FBI director, a long-running Trump foe whom the president over the years has called a “corrupt piece of garbage” and other pejorative names.
An earlier case in Virginia accusing Comey of lying to Congress was dismissed last November after a judge concluded that the prosecutor who charged him and another Trump adversary, New York Attorney General Letitia James, was illegally appointed to the job.
More broadly, the case is part of a retribution campaign by the Trump administration Justice Department, which has initiated investigations across the country into individuals the president does not like.
Comey was interviewed by the Secret Service last year over the post after Trump administration officials asserted that he was advocating the assassination of Trump, the 47th president.
The two-count indictment charges Comey with “knowingly and willfully” making a threat to “take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon” Trump and with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. It does not provide evidence that Comey knowingly threatened Trump, especially since Comey has said the opposite, but suggested a “reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret” the message as a threat.
The Justice Department has not elaborated on any evidence of intent the government has. But acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said earlier this year that prosecutors in every case prove intent with “witnesses, with documents, with the defendant himself to the extent it’s appropriate.”
California
Prosecutors move to drop charge against labor leader
Federal prosecutors have moved to dismiss a charge against a labor union leader who was arrested while protesting the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in California.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles filed a motion Monday to dismiss its case against David Huerta, president of Service Employees International Union California, which has more than 750,000 members including janitors, security officers and other workers.
“We said from the outset that this prosecution had no legal basis,” Huerta’s lawyers, Abbe D. Lowell and Marilyn Bednarski, said in a statement.
“This case, like others, sought to silence criticism of the administration’s improper immigration actions. Today’s filing is proof that David and other critics will not be silenced,” the lawyers said.
It was the latest case to fall apart in the Justice Department’s efforts to prosecute people accused of assaulting or hindering federal officers while protesting President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles said the department doesn’t arrest people for peacefully protesting. The office said in a statement that Huerta was charged with interfering with a judicial search warrant and has complied with the terms of his bond for more than a year.
“Pursuant to an agreement entered into with our office, if Mr. Huerta continues to comply with his pretrial release terms, we expect the criminal case against him to be fully dismissed by the end of next month,” the statement said.
Huerta was arrested in June 2025 while protesting outside a business in Los Angeles where federal agents were investigating suspected immigration violations. Union leaders and immigrant advocates rallied in cities across the country demanding his release and Huerta became the face of the pushback against the Republican president’s effort to drive up immigration arrests.
Federal prosecutors initially charged Huerta with felony obstruction and in October reduced the charge to a misdemeanor.
Huerta has worked for the SEIU for more than two decades and in 2022 was elected president of SEIU California. He was honored during the Obama administration for his efforts to build an immigrant integration program that included English classes for union members.
Federal officials investigate after a video appears to show a person kicking a sea lion
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Federal wildlife authorities are investigating after a video appeared to show a person kicking a protected sea lion at a beach in California.
A spokesperson for the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed an ongoing investigation into the incident but declined to provide additional details Sunday.
The video appears to show a person throwing kicks at the sea lion at La Jolla Cove in San Diego as at least one other person can be heard laughing in the background. The person follows the sea lion, throwing more kicks at the animal as it tries to scoot away before the video ends.
“NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement is investigating reports of a video on social media that shows an interaction between an individual and sea lion, allegedly in La Jolla Cove,” a spokesperson for the agency said. “In the video, the individual appears to be kicking the sea lion. This is an ongoing investigation, and we cannot provide further details at this time.”
The person in the video has not been publicly identified.
Sea lions are federally protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s guidelines say that people should stay at least 50 feet (15 meters) away from sea lions, seals and other species protected by the act.
“This disgusting act of animal cruelty is unacceptable,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said in a post on X.
Washington
Comey says seashells post was political speech as he presses to dismiss charges
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former FBI Director James Comey urged a judge on Monday to throw out federal charges against him, arguing that a photo of seashells arranged on a beach he posted on social media was not a call to violence against President Donald Trump but protected political speech.
Comey’s lawyers argue the government cannot prove the Instagram photo of seashells in the numerical arrangement of “86 47” constituted a “true threat” against the Republican president, who fired Comey in 2017 and has publicly called for his prosecution. The slogan — which has long meant to “get rid of” or “eject” — has been featured on thousands of items sold online and regularly displayed at protests, defense lawyers wrote.
“But the government now singles out Mr. Comey to prosecute one of the President’s most prominent critics for publishing another person’s statement of political opposition over a social media photo of seashells arranged on a beach,” his attorney’s wrote. “That attempt to suppress core political speech contravenes both the statutes at issue and the First Amendment.”
The seashells case against Comey was the second in months targeting the ex-FBI director, a long-running Trump foe whom the president over the years has called a “corrupt piece of garbage” and other pejorative names.
An earlier case in Virginia accusing Comey of lying to Congress was dismissed last November after a judge concluded that the prosecutor who charged him and another Trump adversary, New York Attorney General Letitia James, was illegally appointed to the job.
More broadly, the case is part of a retribution campaign by the Trump administration Justice Department, which has initiated investigations across the country into individuals the president does not like.
Comey was interviewed by the Secret Service last year over the post after Trump administration officials asserted that he was advocating the assassination of Trump, the 47th president.
The two-count indictment charges Comey with “knowingly and willfully” making a threat to “take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon” Trump and with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. It does not provide evidence that Comey knowingly threatened Trump, especially since Comey has said the opposite, but suggested a “reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret” the message as a threat.
The Justice Department has not elaborated on any evidence of intent the government has. But acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said earlier this year that prosecutors in every case prove intent with “witnesses, with documents, with the defendant himself to the extent it’s appropriate.”
California
Prosecutors move to drop charge against labor leader
Federal prosecutors have moved to dismiss a charge against a labor union leader who was arrested while protesting the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in California.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles filed a motion Monday to dismiss its case against David Huerta, president of Service Employees International Union California, which has more than 750,000 members including janitors, security officers and other workers.
“We said from the outset that this prosecution had no legal basis,” Huerta’s lawyers, Abbe D. Lowell and Marilyn Bednarski, said in a statement.
“This case, like others, sought to silence criticism of the administration’s improper immigration actions. Today’s filing is proof that David and other critics will not be silenced,” the lawyers said.
It was the latest case to fall apart in the Justice Department’s efforts to prosecute people accused of assaulting or hindering federal officers while protesting President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles said the department doesn’t arrest people for peacefully protesting. The office said in a statement that Huerta was charged with interfering with a judicial search warrant and has complied with the terms of his bond for more than a year.
“Pursuant to an agreement entered into with our office, if Mr. Huerta continues to comply with his pretrial release terms, we expect the criminal case against him to be fully dismissed by the end of next month,” the statement said.
Huerta was arrested in June 2025 while protesting outside a business in Los Angeles where federal agents were investigating suspected immigration violations. Union leaders and immigrant advocates rallied in cities across the country demanding his release and Huerta became the face of the pushback against the Republican president’s effort to drive up immigration arrests.
Federal prosecutors initially charged Huerta with felony obstruction and in October reduced the charge to a misdemeanor.
Huerta has worked for the SEIU for more than two decades and in 2022 was elected president of SEIU California. He was honored during the Obama administration for his efforts to build an immigrant integration program that included English classes for union members.
