A Seattle cat mother accused the US Navy’s Blue Angels of robbing her aged cat of a peaceable loss of life after their annual practices for a summer season truthful flyover brought on a frequent “sonic barrage” that may terrify the feline she beloved like “a daughter,” in accordance with a lawsuit.
Lauren Ann Lombardi’s 14-year-old cat Layla died on Aug. 11, 2024 following a battle with coronary heart illness that was solely worsened by the Blue Angels’ frequent overhead flying, she alleged in a federal civil criticism filed this week.
“I simply wished to share what occurred to her. I wished folks to know, and I wished there to be some type of accountability for that. That’s the principle factor I wished to get throughout was Layla’s story,” Lombardi instructed The Submit.
The lawsuit hinges on the Blue Angels’ alleged blockage of her Instagram account, which she claims violated her First Modification rights.
Yearly, the Blue Angels take part within the Boeing Seafair Air Present in Seattle in the course of the summer season Seafair Pageant. The flight squadron practices and performs over Lake Washington, which is only a few miles away from Lombardi’s dwelling.
The noise from the flyovers would final for a number of minutes as much as 3 times a day, she stated.
“It’s like what I think about being in a warfare zone appears like. It’s very terrifying, it really shook our home once they would go by,” Lombardi stated.
The cat mother lobbed her first tirade on the air squad in August 2023, her first summer season dwelling within the space after transferring from the East Coast.
“Cease along with your F—king bulls–t you’re terrorizing my cat and all the opposite animals and wildlife. No person offers a f–okay about your silly little planes,” Lombardi wrote to the squadron through Instagram.
By then, the present had already began. The Blue Angels’ Instagram account allegedly blocked Lombardi shortly after.
She tried to achieve out to name them “cowards” in a direct message two days later, but it surely was apparently by no means delivered “because of the blocking,” in accordance with the lawsuit.
“I wasn’t even anticipating to get a response, I used to be simply actually offended. I do know my messages weren’t very good, however I used to be simply overcome with rage as a result of it terrified her a lot,” Lombardi stated of Layla.
“The Blue Angels are actually cool. Clearly, it’s actually spectacular, however the hurt is actual larger than the nice, and I simply need folks to know to allow them to type their very own opinions. By them blocking me, it prevented me from having the ability to talk that to individuals who in any other case wouldn’t understand how dangerous it’s.”
Lombardi claimed that the squad’s “sonic barrage” despatched an already-feeble Layla with mere weeks left to reside right into a panic once more the next 12 months. To try to calm her frail feline, Lombardi barricaded all factors of sound entry in the home and even used her palms to dam the aged cat’s ears.
The devoted cat mother was “traumatized” by Layla’s tragic passing and retired early to make sure her honorary “daughter” was comfy throughout her remaining months, she stated.
“She was every little thing to me. Pet doesn’t even sound correct to me, I discuss with her as my daughter,” she stated.
Per week after the 2024 truthful, Layla was humanely euthanized. She spent the majority of her remaining days hiding underneath furnishings round the home, in accordance with the criticism.
Lombardi famous that she “respects and helps” the US navy, however nonetheless asserted that her feline’s sundowning was “pockmarked by debilitating terror introduced on by the actions of the US Authorities,” in accordance with the criticism.
She doesn’t blame the armed forces for Layla’s loss of life — although the lawsuit is riddled with complaints concerning the cat’s torment. As a substitute, she’s on the lookout for the Blue Angels to unblock her Instagram account and repay her bills, together with “affordable attorneys’ charges,” in accordance with the criticism.
The lawsuit itself was penned by legal professional Nacim Bouchtia, Lombardi’s husband and Layla’s human father, in accordance with the cat’s obituary.
Lombardi additionally seeks to require a refresher course for the Blue Angels on the “elementary significance of the First Modification which the courageous women and men of the U.S. Navy are sworn to guard,” in accordance with the criticism.
Her two new cat youngsters, Ozzy and Ziggy, named after the late rockstars Ozzy Osbourne and David Bowie, can be experiencing the Blue Angels’ apply for the primary time in only a few days.
In Lombardi’s very best world, the air present can be nixed and changed with one thing like a laser gentle present, however she acknowledged that eliminating the seven-decade custom can be unrealistic.
The Submit reached out to the US Navy for remark. A consultant for the Blue Angels couldn’t be reached instantly.
