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Seattle Woman Sues Blue Angels Over Jet Noise That Claimed Her Cat and Instagram Ban

The suit challenges noise pollution alongside government social media censorship as the Navy prepares its next Seafair flyover

Layla.
Main: The Blue Angels conduct their practice performance for their annual show and flight performance during Commissioning Week at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland on May 20, 2025. Inset: Layla, the cat
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Overview

  • On July 21, 2025, Seattle resident Lauren Ann Lombardi filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Western Washington naming three Navy officers in their official capacities.
  • Lombardi alleges that low-altitude F/A-18 Super Hornet flyovers during Seafair weekends in August 2023 and 2024 triggered panic attacks that aggravated her elderly cat Layla’s heart disease, forcing euthanasia in August 2024.
  • The complaint claims she was blocked from the Blue Angels’ official Instagram account after publicly criticizing the team, an action she says violated her First Amendment rights by suppressing government-related criticism.
  • She is seeking court orders to unblock her account, prohibit viewpoint-based blocking, mandate First Amendment training for Navy social media managers and recover her legal fees.
  • The lawsuit cites a University of Washington study showing over 74,000 Puget Sound residents face harmful aircraft noise levels and alleges jet noise also disrupts marine wildlife, including endangered orcas, ahead of the squadron’s early August return.