L-Katy Perry performs onstage during The Lifetimes Tour 2025 at CDMX Arena in Mexico City (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Katy Perry); R-Justin Trudeau attends the Ukraine-focused leaders’ summit, London, UK, March, 2025. (Rasid Necati Aslim /Anadolu via Getty Images)
Katy Perry hard-launched her relationship with Justin Trudeauon Instagram on Saturday, as part of a post documenting her time in Tokyo, Japan.
The singer and the former Canadian prime minister are seen in multiple pictures and videos in her post, including one of them posing cheek-to-cheek while standing outdoors, and videos of them sitting side-by-side eating sushi and enjoying some kind of immersive light installation.
“tokyo times on tour and more,” she captioned the post.
We’d previously seen photos of the couple posing with former Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida and his wife, which Kishida posted on X. In the post, Kishida referred to Katy as Trudeau’s “partner.”
The unlikely couple first sparked romance rumors over the summer, when they were seen dining together in Montreal, and Trudeau later attended Katy’s concert. In October, they were also seen smooching on a yacht, and then attending a show hand-in-hand in Paris.
Katy split with longtime love Orlando Bloom in July, after being engaged for six years and welcoming daughter Daisy Dove. Trudeau, meanwhile, separated from his wife Sophie Grégoire after 18 years of marriage and three children in 2023.
(NEW YORK) — A suspect has been charged in the Friday stabbing on a light rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina, according to police.
Oscar Solarzano, 33, has been charged with five counts including attempted first degree murder, assault with deadly weapon serious injury and carrying concealed weapon, according to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department.
The male victim was found with a stab wound just before 5 p.m. near North Brevard Street and East 22nd Street, where the train appeared to have stopped between stations, Charlotte ABC affiliate WSOC reported.
The victim was transported to Novant Health Presbyterian with serious injuries but is in stable condition, according to the Mecklenburg EMS Agency.
Solarzano was apprehended by officers shortly after the stabbing and was transported to the division where he was interviewed by detectives, police said.
Solarzano was transported to the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office after the interview concluded, police said.
This incident comes months after a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee was fatally stabbed while riding the Blue Line on the Charlotte light rail. The suspect, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr., was charged with first-degree murder and was indicted in October on federal charges of violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation system resulting in death.
Any witnesses or anyone with any information on the stabbing Friday are asked to call Charlotte Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600, use the Charlotte Crime Stoppers P3 Tips Mobile App or visit the Charlotte Crime Stoppers website.
(WASHINGTON) — Department of Justice officials, citing privilege, did not disclose details on the legal advice given to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the decision to continue the deportation of more than 100 Venezuelans to El Salvador in March.
The declarations filed in court Friday are a response to a contempt inquiry initiated by U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg, who is determining whether Noem or anyone else should be referred for potential contempt prosecution.
The court filings Friday were submitted after DOJ lawyers said in a filing last week that Noem directed the deportation flights to continue despite Boasberg’s order to return the planes to the U.S. as he heard a legal challenge to the administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to deport the Venezuelans, whom the Trump administration accused of being gang members.
In her declaration, Noem confirmed she made the decision to continue the transfer of the detainees after receiving legal advice from DOJ leadership and from Joseph Mazarra, the acting general counsel of DHS.
In the filings Friday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, a DOJ official in March who is now a U.S. circuit judge, declined to provide details on the “privileged” legal advice they gave to Noem.
“DOJ has not authorized me to disclose privileged information in this declaration,” Bove said.
Mazarra, in his declaration, said that he analyzed Judge Boasberg’s order that sought to block the deportations and then provided Noem with legal advice.
“DHS had removed these terrorists from the U.S. before this Court issued any order (or oral statement regarding their removal),” Mazarra wrote in the filing Friday.
In a separate filing, DOJ attorneys said it would be “prejudicial and constitutionally improper” to compel testimony from the officials who submitted declarations in advance of a referral for prosecution.
“[The] Court has all the information it needs to make a referral if it believes one to be justified, and further factual inquiry by the Court would raise constitutional and privilege concerns,” the DOJ attorneys stated.
In response to the declarations, Lee Gelernt, the lead attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, which has challenged the AEA deportations in court, told ABC News “the Trump administration is again refusing to cooperate with a federal court.”
In March, the Trump administration invoked the AEA — an 18th-century wartime authority used to remove noncitizens with little-to-no due process — to deport two planeloads of alleged migrant gang members to the CECOT mega-prison in El Salvador by arguing that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is a “hybrid criminal state” that is invading the United States.
In a March 15 court hearing, Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order and ordered that the planes carrying the detainees be turned around, but Justice Department attorneys have said his oral instructions directing the flight to be returned were defective, and the deportations proceeded as planned.
Boasberg’s earlier finding that the Trump administration likely acted in contempt was halted for months after an appeals court issued an emergency stay. A federal appeals court last month declined to reinstate Boasberg’s original order, but the ruling allowed him to move forward with his fact-finding inquiry.
(LONDON) — American and Ukrainian representatives will continue discussions on a possible framework for a peace deal to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor on Saturday, the State Department said in a statement, following meetings between the two teams in Miami this week.
The office of the spokesperson at the State Department said in a Friday statement that U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner held “constructive discussions” with the Ukrainian delegation this week on “advancing a credible pathway toward a durable and just peace in Ukraine.”
The statement said the two delegations agreed on a framework of security arrangements and necessary deterrence capabilities that the State Department said will lead to a “lasting peace” between Ukraine and Russia.
Friday’s State Department statement provided no further details on the framework of any security arrangement.
Kyiv has long said it cannot accept any peace deal that does not include concrete security guarantees from Western partners, chief among them the U.S. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his government have warned that without such protections, Russia may be emboldened to launch new rounds of aggression in the future.
The U.S. and Ukrainian delegations met in Miami for talks on Thursday and Friday. The teams are set to reconvene on Saturday to “continue advancing the discussions,” the State Department statement said.
The readout said that the Ukrainian delegation — which was led by Rustem Umerov, the secretary of the country’s National Security and Defense Council — “reaffirmed that Ukraine’s priority is securing a settlement that protects its independence and sovereignty, ensures the safety of Ukrainians and provides a stable foundation for a prosperous democratic future.”
The statement also said that the U.S. envoys discussed their recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, plus “steps that could lead to ending this war.”
“Both parties agreed that real progress toward any agreement depends on Russia’s readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace, including steps toward de-escalation and cessation of killings,” the statement added.
Ahead of the first meeting in Miami on Thursday, Zelenskyy said in a post to social media that his team’s task was “to obtain full information about what was said in Russia and what other pretexts Putin has come up with to drag out the war and to pressure Ukraine,” referring to the visit of Witkoff and Kushner to the Russian capital earlier in the week.
“Ukraine is prepared for any possible developments, and of course we will work as constructively as possible with all our partners to ensure that peace is achieved,” Zelenskyy added. “Only a dignified peace provides real security, and we fully understand that this requires — and will continue to require — the support of our partners.”
The Kremlin’s public statements suggest it is maintaining its maximalist demands, which include Ukraine’s withdrawal from territories still partially under Kyiv’s control in the east of the country. Ukraine has repeatedly dismissed that proposal.
Putin is projecting confidence, last week claiming a “positive dynamic” everywhere on the front despite high rates of Russian casualties — according to Kyiv’s reporting — and slow battlefield progress. Russia, the president said, is “ready in principle” to “fight to the last Ukrainian.”
Both Russia and Ukraine are sustaining their long-range strike campaigns amid the White House’s latest diplomatic push.
Ukraine’s air force said on Saturday morning that Russia launched 653 drones and 51 missiles — 17 of them ballistic missiles — into the country overnight. The air force said 585 drones and 30 missiles were shot down or suppressed. Drone and missile impacts were reported across 29 locations, the air force said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces downed at least 121 Ukrainian drones on Friday night into Saturday morning.
(LONDON) — NATO fighter jets were scrambled and air defense systems put on alert in Poland in response to Russia’s latest overnight drone and missile strikes in Ukraine, the Armed Forces Operational Command in Warsaw said in a series of social media posts.
“Fighter jets have been scrambled and ground-based air defense systems as well as radar reconnaissance systems have reached a state of readiness,” the command said in a post to X.
“These actions are of a preventive nature and are aimed at securing the airspace and its protection, especially in areas adjacent to the threatened regions,” it added.
The alert lasted for just under four hours, after which the command said the fighters and air defense systems had “returned to standard operational activities.” No violations of Polish airspace were observed, a follow-up post to X said.
The Spanish and Czech air forces were involved in the response, the command said, as were German and Dutch air defense systems.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 653 drones and 51 missiles — 17 of them ballistic missiles — into the country overnight. The air force said 585 drones and 30 missiles were shot down or suppressed.
Drone and missile impacts were reported across 29 locations, the air force said.
The attack — which consisted of 704 air attack weapons — was Russia’s largest overnight bombardment since it launched 705 munitions on the night of Oct. 29, according to Ukrainian air force data analyzed by ABC News.
The largest attack of the war to date took place on the night of Sept. 6 and involved 823 air attack vehicles. The latest overnight attack is only the fourth of Russia’s full-scale invasion to date in which the number of air attack vehicles used surpassed 700.
Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Iho Klymenko said in a post to Telegram that 10 regions of the country came under attack, with direct hits to residential buildings, railways and energy infrastructure.
More than two dozen houses in the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr and Lviv regions were damaged, according to Klymenko.
At least three people were injured in the Kyiv region, another three people were injured in the Dnipropetrovsk region and two people were injured in the Lviv region, Klymenko said.
In the Black Sea port city of Odesa, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said an energy facility was damaged, resulting in disruptions to the supply of power and heating. Some 9,500 customers were without heating and 34,000 without water as of 9:30 a.m. local time.
There was also damage to energy infrastructure in the Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, according to authorities there.
The International Atomic Energy Agency — the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog — said in a post to X that Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant also temporarily lost all off-site power during the Russian strikes.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi “reiterates call for military restraint to avoid a nuclear accident,” the post said.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said she had “convened an emergency coordination meeting” with the ministers of internal affairs and energy as well as the leadership of the state-run energy companies and all services responsible for recovery operations.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post to X, “Russia continues to disregard any peace efforts and instead strikes critical civilian infrastructure, including our energy system and railways.”
“This shows that no decisions to strengthen Ukraine and raise pressure on Russia can be delayed,” Sybiha added. “And especially not under the pretext of peace process.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post to social media that energy facilities were “the main targets of these strikes.”
“Russia’s aim is to inflict suffering on millions of Ukrainians,” the president wrote. “That is exactly why additional pressure is needed. Sanctions must work, and so must our air defenses, which means we must maintain support for those defending lives.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces downed at least 121 drones on Friday night into Saturday morning.
ABC News’ Morgan Winsor, Natalia Kushnir, Natalia Popova and Anna Sergeeva contributed to this report.
Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — The Eurovision Song Contest slogan is “United By Music,” but the music competition’s organizers are seeing some cracks in that unity.
A discordant note has been struck in that unity over Israel’s participation in the contest over the war between Israel and Hamas and the humanitarian crisis it precipitated.
Four European nations say they will not take part in the popular international song competition next year after Israel was cleared to participate. State broadcasters in the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain and Slovenia cited the ongoing war in Gaza as their reason for withdrawing.
The war started after Hamas launched a surprise terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed roughly 1,200 Israelis and took about 251 people hostage. Israel responded by declaring war, vowing to eradicate Hamas, the organization that has been de facto governing Gaza and has been designated by the U.S. as a terrorist group. The death toll in Gaza had surpassed 70,000 as of Wednesday, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.
Both sides agreed to a ceasefire, which has broadly held, this October.
“Culture unites, but not at any price. What has happened over the past year has tested the limits of what we can uphold,” Taco Zimmerman, head of the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, said in a statement. “Universal values such as humanity and press freedom have been seriously compromised, and for us, these values are non-negotiable.”
Ireland’s broadcaster RTÉ directly cited the war in its statement.
“RTÉ feels that Ireland’s participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk,” it wrote.
Ireland has won the Eurovision Song Contest seven times, and is tied with Sweden for the most wins ever. The Swedish group ABBA famously got a boost into worldwide stardom from its Eurovision win for “Waterloo.”
“The situation in Gaza, despite the ceasefire and the approval of the peace process, and Israel’s use of the contest for political purposes, make it increasingly difficult to maintain Eurovision as a neutral cultural event,” Alfonso Morales, secretary general of Spain’s broadcaster RTVE, said in part in a statement.
Spain is part of what’s known as the Eurovision’s “Big 5” — the participants whose broadcasters provide the most, financially, to the contest and have the biggest viewership. The UK, France, Germany and Italy are the other members of this group, and performers representing these countries get automatic entry into the Eurovision final.
A representative for Slovenia’s broadcaster also cited the war in Gaza, and said the Israeli government had been using the contest for political gain.
During this year’s Eurovision, Yuval Raphael’s song “New Day Will Rise” reached second place — it was beaten by Austrian singer JJ’s “Wasted Love.”
The Israeli government was accused by other countries’ broadcasters of manipulating the voting system during this year’s Eurovision. Amid the controversy, the EBU announced new changes to tighten voting rules, but Eurovison Song Contest Director Martin Green told the BBC that Israel did not break the rules.
At a meeting in Geneva on Thursday, the European Broadcasting Union — the organizing body of the contest — and member broadcasters from participating nations gathered to discuss new voting guidelines and contest rules. They did not take a vote on Israel’s participation, which cleared the way for the country to compete.
Four European nations say they will not take part in the popular international song competition next year after Israel was cleared to participate. State broadcasters in the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain and Slovenia cited the ongoing war in Gaza as their reason for withdrawing.
“I am pleased that Israel will once again participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, and I hope that the competition will remain one that champions culture, music, friendship between nations, and cross-border cultural understanding,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog wrote, in part, in a post on X after the Geneva meeting.
Israeli broadcaster KAN was critical of the backlash
“The attempt to remove KAN from the contest can only be understood as a cultural boycott,” one representative said during the meeting.
But some broadcasters — like Britain’s BBC — expressed support for Israel to compete.
Opposition to Israel’s participation had been brewing since 2024, when protesters demonstrated outside the arena in Malmo, Sweden.
Israel first joined the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973. Four Israeli acts have taken home the Eurovision trophy since, most recently in 2018.
The final of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Vienna, Austria, on May 16.
(NEW YORK) — At least 14 cases of Legionnaires’ disease have been reported in central Florida.
In an email to state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, the Florida Department of Health revealed the outbreak is linked to a gym, reported ABC News affiliate WFTV.
The letter from the department did not list the name of the gym, but WFTV reported that a Crunch Fitness in Ocoee — 12 miles west of Orlando — had members reporting cases of Legionnaires’ disease.
Crunch Fitness told the station it is working with the health department, has closed off parts of the gym and is testing its pool and spa systems “out of an abundance of caution.”
Neither the Florida Department of Health nor Crunch Fitness immediately returned ABC News’ request for comment.
Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by inhaling the Legionella bacteria in small droplets of water mixed in the air or contaminated water accidentally going into your lungs.
Legionella bacteria are found naturally in freshwater but typically grow best in warm water and in warm to hot temperatures, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The disease does not spread from person to person, but outbreaks can grow if the bacteria get into a building’s water supply, including in shower heads, sink faucets, hot water tanks, heaters and other plumbing systems.
Legionnaires has increased in prevalence over the last decade, reaching a peak of 2.71 cases per 100,000 in 2018, the CDC said. Cases dropped during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and then rebounded in 2021.
Although most people recover from Legionnaires’ disease with antibiotics, certain patients — including those who are immunocompromised or who suffer from chronic lung diseases — can develop complications that can be fatal.
About one out of every 10 people who develops Legionnaires’ disease will die due to complications, according to the CDC. Among those who develop Legionnaires’ disease during a stay in a health care facility, about one out of every four people will die, the federal health agency added.
(WASHINGTON) — The suspect accused of placing two pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic National Committees the night before the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, made his initial appearance in court Friday.
Brian Cole Jr. of Virginia was arrested by federal authorities Thursday following a massive probe that had stymied investigators for almost five years.
Members of his family seated in the gallery audibly gasped and broke down in tears as Cole entered the courtroom and sat down next to his attorney, John Shoreman.
Cole’s legs and arms were shaking throughout the duration of the hearing as he listened to the judge read him his rights and detail the two charges Cole currently faces, which carry a maximum sentence of up to 30 years if he is convicted.
Cole did not enter a plea in court.
During the hearing, government attorneys said that Cole sat for an interview with the FBI for four hours Thursday after his arrest, and that they plan to provide a transcript of the interview to Cole’s attorneys over the weekend.
Law enforcement sources tell ABC News that Cole admitted to investigators that he planted the bombs, but investigators have not yet officially identified a motive.
According to sources, investigators who interviewed Cole feel initial indications are that Cole believed there was fraud in the 2020 election.
Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told ABC News’ Pierre Thomas on Friday that Cole told investigators he was “disappointed in various aspects of the election.”
Counsel for the government told the court that they will seek Cole’s continued detention through trial, based on the seriousness of the offenses he now faces. The judge set a detention hearing for Dec. 15.
As Cole departed the courtroom members of his family stood up and shouted, “We love you Brian!” Another shouted, “We’re here for you, baby!”
Family members and Cole’s attorney declined to comment to reporters outside of court after the hearing concluded.
(WASHINGTON) — The man who is accused of placing two pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican National Committee offices on Jan. 5, 2021, told investigators he was “disappointed” in the results of the 2020 election, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.
Brian Cole Jr. also said that that he got rid of the unusual shoes that investigators were looking for, according Pirro.
“He told us that he had those sneakers and that he got rid of them after he placed the pipe bombs,” Pirro told ABC News in an exclusive interview Friday.
When asked if she would go further in saying that Cole offered a full confession, Pirro would go no further, saying, “I don’t want to get ahead of this, but what I can tell you is that the combination of video evidence, forensic evidence, as well as the items, the receipts and — it makes it very clear that we can prove this case to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Authorities arrested Cole, 30, on Thursday after identifying him as the suspect in the case following a yearslong investigation.
He made his first court appearance Friday and did not enter a plea.
The distinctive Nike Air Max Turf sneakers seen in CCTV images had long been a focus of investigators who were hoping they would lead to the suspect.
Pirro said that based on the evidence, it is “unmistakable” that Cole is the suspect, after having gone through 3 million pieces of data.
“In my mind, they were on the right path when it was clear that the cell phone was pinging in the exact locations where we had the video of the suspect walking along the area,” Pirro said. “Everywhere he walked, his cell phone was pinging at the cell tower. So it is unmistakable that he was the guy who was walking along and placing those items,” she said.
Pirro confirmed ABC News’ reporting that Cole is talking to authorities and that they say he expressed concern about the 2020 election.
“He was disappointed in various aspects of the election,” Pirro said.
She said “it really isn’t clear” if Cole is a supporter of either President Donald Trump or former President Joe Biden.
“This guy was an equal opportunity bomber,” Pirro said. “He put a bomb outside the Republican National Committee and the Democrat National Committee. He was disappointed to a great deal in the system, both sides of the system, and for me as a prosecutor, my job is to prove what his intent was in placing those pipe bombs, and what he intended to do, and what we can prove, and we can prove that.”
She said they won’t stop investigating this case and will continue to execute search warrants and find information.
Pirro was adamant that the public will see the facts of this case, regardless of politics.
“Look at me,” she said. “You will see the facts. You will see the evidence. You will see the truth as we go forward with this case. The law requires it, it demands it, and it is what we will deliver.”
A judge ruled on Tuesday that a judgement could not be entered against blogger Milagro Cooper for the defamation count in a lawsuit filed by hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion in October 2024.
Cooper was found liable for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and promotion of an altered sexual depiction by a Miami jury on Monday.
However, Chief U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga ruled that a media defendant “precludes judgement for Plaintiff on the defamation per se claim because it is uncontested that Plaintiff did not provide Defendant pre-suit notice,” according to the court’s final judgment obtained by ABC News on Tuesday.
In Florida, a media defendant must be served by the plaintiff with a legal notice at least five days before filing a defamation suit, according to court documents obtained by ABC News on Tuesday.
Megan Thee Stallion, whose legal name is Megan Pete, testified during the trial in November that Cooper, who is known on social media as blogger Milagro Gramz, participated in a targeted and coordinated social media campaign to harass, intimidate and defame her.
Pete alleged Cooper was a “paid surrogate” for rapper Tory Lanez and spread lies on his behalf. Lanez was convicted of shooting and injuring Pete in a July 2020 incident.
(LOS ANGELES) — The judge decreased the damages Cooper owes Pete from $75,000 to $59,000, according to legal documents. Altonaga upheld the other two counts of intentional infliction of emotional distress and promotion of an altered sexual depiction.
“Cooper ultimately prevailed on Ms. Pete’s leading accusation, defamation, and the jury awarded a nominal amount of damages compared to millions of dollars Ms. Pete demanded from Ms. Cooper throughout the course of the litigation,” Cooper’s attorney said in a statement on Wednesday obtained by ABC News.
Pete’s attorneys said in a statement obtained by ABC News after the jury’s verdict on Monday that Cooper is also required to cover costs for the rapper’s legal bills.
“Request for costs and fees shall not be submitted until after any post-trial motions are decided or an appeal is concluded, whichever occurs later,” the judge stated in her final judgment.
ABC News has reached out to Pete’s attorneys, but requests for comments were not immediately returned.
The lawsuit alleges that Cooper spread lies about Pete to punish her and attempt to discredit her after she publicly named Lanez as her shooter.
“She’s created a space for a lot of people to come speak negatively about me,” Pete said in trial testimony last month of Cooper, referencing social media posts where the blogger attacked Pete’s character, casting her as a liar and mentally unstable.
Cooper, who took the stand earlier in November, testified that as a blogger, she discussed the shooting on her social media accounts without the influence of Tory Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson.
But Cooper did acknowledge that she spoke with Peterson and was hoping to have him as a guest on her channel. She also testified that she received payments from Peterson’s father, Sonstar Peterson, but claimed they were for “personal” reasons like her children’s birthdays and “promotional” work.
The jury was shown social media posts in which Cooper claimed that Pete was not shot.
When asked if she believed that Pete was shot, Cooper said, “I can’t say she lied about that because I wasn’t there,” but then Cooper said that she believed that Pete was not shot and had stepped on glass — a claim that Pete made in her initial statement to police.
Peterson is not named as a defendant in Pete’s defamation lawsuit but was asked to give a deposition ahead of the trial. ABC News has reached out to his attorneys, but requests for comment were not immediately returned.
Peterson, who chose not to take the witness stand during the 2022 trial, pleaded not guilty and his defense attorneys argued during the trial that he was not the shooter.
Peterson was sentenced to 10 years in prison without the possibility of parole on Aug. 8, 2023, after he was convicted in December 2022 of felony assault for shooting and injuring Pete in both of her feet in an incident that occurred in the Hollywood Hills on July 12, 2020.
His legal team appealed his conviction, but it was upheld on Nov. 12 by a federal court in Los Angeles.
Editor’s Note: A prior version of this story said the judge dismissed the defamation charge. Under Florida law, a media defendant must be served by the plaintiff with a legal notice at least five days before filing a defamation suit so, in this case, that judgement could not be entered.
