Lauren Ann Lombardi filed a civil action against the famed aviators for allegedly blocking her on Instagram.
Seattle Woman Sues Blue Angels After Cat’s Final Days Marked by “Debilitating Terror”
The final days of a 14-year-old cat named Layla were spent in “pure debilitating terror” due to low-flying Blue Angels jets, according to a federal lawsuit filed this week by her owner, Lauren Ann Lombardi.
Lombardi, a Seattle-based paralegal, said the U.S. Navy’s flight demonstration squadron caused her elderly cat extreme distress during flyovers in August 2022 and 2023, allegedly worsening Layla’s heart condition during her final days. Layla died on August 11, 2023, after a prolonged battle with heart disease.
The Blue Angels, known for their loud, high-speed aerobatic shows, have been performing across the country since 1946 and regularly fly over Seattle as part of the Boeing Seafair Air Show.
Lombardi had raised concerns about the noise from the jets as early as August 3, 2023, posting an expletive-filled message to the Blue Angels on Instagram:
“Stop with your f——g bull—-. You are terrorizing my cat and all the other animals and wildlife. Nobody gives a f— about your stupid little planes.”
Shortly after sending that message, Lombardi says she was blocked by the Blue Angels’ account. When she attempted to send a one-word follow-up — “cowards” — it appeared to send but was never delivered.
The lawsuit, filed by Lombardi’s husband and attorney, Nacim Bouchtia, centers on that social media block. It argues that public officials cannot suppress criticism or block individuals based on viewpoint under the First Amendment — an area of law that remains unsettled.
The suit names Cmdr. Adam Bryan, the Blue Angels’ commanding officer, and Lt. Ben Bushong, the squadron’s social media administrator, as defendants. It seeks an injunction to have the block lifted, prevent future blocks based on viewpoint, and cover attorneys’ fees.
But the lawsuit is about more than social media. It tells the story of a deeply personal loss, magnified by what the plaintiffs describe as government-induced trauma.
According to the complaint, Layla had just returned from the animal hospital when the Blue Angels resumed their flyovers. Despite being heavily sedated, she panicked, fled under furniture, and began hyperventilating.
“Her primitive limbic system overruled her medication,” Bouchtia wrote. “Her walnut-sized brain was overwhelmed with primal panic.”
Lombardi tried to comfort her with blankets over the windows and her own hands over Layla’s ears, but “to no avail.”
The plaintiffs emphasized that they aren’t directly blaming the Navy for Layla’s death but are heartbroken she “died knowing only fear when she should have known only love.”
In the lawsuit and in Layla’s obituary, Bouchtia called the flyovers “auditory carpet bombing” with “the subtlety of a military occupation.” He described squadron commanders as “emotionally fragile snowflakes” who turned “personal tragedy into Constitutional treason.”
The Blue Angels are next scheduled to perform over Seattle on August 2–3 at the 2025 Boeing Seafair Air Show.
As for Layla, her owners say she was “the greatest cat that ever lived,” and they hope the lawsuit will not only address the harm done to her — but protect others from experiencing the same.