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Owners of beloved Peanut the squirrel plan to sue New York state over seizure and killing by authorities
The owners of Peanut the squirrel, which took the internet by storm after his “illegal and improper killing,” along with his raccoon pal Fred, by New York authorities, are planning to sue the state, accusing officials of government overreach and abuse.
Mark Longo and Daniela Bittner filed a notice of claim against the state after both animals were taken from the couple’s upstate home and animal sanctuary in rural Pine City, near the Pennsylvania border, during a raid by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) on Oct. 30.
The claim accuses authorities of violating the couple’s rights by taking the animals, invasion of privacy and trespass, among other claims.
Peanut, or P’Nut, and Fred were killed to be tested for rabies, which was “unfounded” and “unjustified,” according to the filing. Authorities knew the animals didn’t have rabies, it said.
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Peanut or P’Nut the squirrel has 532,000 followers on Instagram. His owners are planning to sue New York state over the animal’s seizure and euthanasia. (@peanut_the_squirrel12/Instagram)
PEANUT THE PET SQUIRREL TAKEN AWAY BY NEW YORK STATE OFFICIALS FROM ADOPTED HOME, MAY BE EUTHANIZED
The state said an agent was bitten during the raid, sparking the need for the tests, the New York Post reported.
In their notice, the couple called that an “excuse” and alleged the “fabrication of evidence,” the court documents said. Even if there was a risk of rabies, “which is near impossible and disputed,” DEC agents should have known how to handle wild or other animals without getting bitten, the documents state.
“It appears as though there were multiple constitutional law violations here — or at the very least, there are many questions as to why the government chose the actions that they chose,” the couple’s attorney, Nora Constance Marino, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Entering someone’s house and searching it is such an extreme violation of that person’s right to privacy, and that’s why we have a Fourth Amendment, to protect us from unreasonable searches and seizures.”
“Likewise, there are many questions as to why Peanut and Fred were killed. There was no reason, whatsoever, to believe that either animal had rabies, and killing the animals was outside the scope of the warrant,” she added. “My clients have suffered greatly and continue to suffer, from what appears to be egregious government conduct. Government wields great power, and if left unchecked, can have disastrous results for citizens. That’s what makes our United States Constitution so precious, and it needs to be honored.”
Peanut was rescued at 5 weeks old by his adoptive human parents after his mother was run over by a car. (@peanut_the_squirrel12/Instagram)
The DEC said it doesn’t comment on potential or pending litigation.
The filing further alleges that “the notion that a DEC agent and/or other respondents’ agent was ‘bitten’ by Peanut may be false and/or manufactured.”
“It is further submitted that even if an agent was in fact bitten, killing Peanut would still be unnecessary, unjustified, improper, and illegal, it is further submitted that there is no claim that Fred the raccoon bit anyone, and thus, the killing of Fred was unnecessary, unjustified, improper, and illegal,” the filing states.
Peanut was an internet sensation before his death. An Instagram page dedicated to him has more than 915,000 followers.
Longo and his wife established the animal sanctuary, called “P’Nut’s Freedom Farm,” last year, inspired by the squirrel. Longo told his followers that he had taken the rodent in after he witnessed the squirrel’s mother being hit by a car. The squirrel refused to return to the wild and became attached to the couple.
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Peanut or P’Nut the squirrel, who had over 500,000 followers on Instagram, was euthanized by New York State officials last week. (@peanut_the_squirrel12/Instagram)
In a previous interview with TMZ, Longo said Peanut’s death tore his family apart.
“Peanut was the cornerstone of our non-profit animal rescue,” he said. “And 10 to 12 DEC officers raided my house as if I was a drug dealer. I sat outside my house for five hours. I had to get a police escort to my bathroom.”
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
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Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, is in a Florida hospital in critical condition, his spokesman said Sunday.
The spokesman, Ted Goodman, would not specify which hospital and said that the former mayor “remains in critical but stable condition.”
“Mayor Giuliani is a fighter who has faced every challenge in his life with unwavering strength, and he’s fighting with that same level of strength as we speak,” he said, before asking “that you join us in prayer” for the former mayor.
It is unclear when Mr. Giuliani, 81, was taken to the hospital.
President Trump, in a post on Truth Social, called Mr. Giuliani a “True Warrior, and the Best Mayor in the History of New York City, BY FAR.”
He used the occasion to again advance his false claim that Democrats “cheated” in the 2020 election.
“They cheated on the Elections, fabricated hundreds of stories, did anything possible to destroy our Nation, and now, look at Rudy. So sad!” he said.
Mr. Giuliani has struggled with legal and financial problems in recent years, and in the summer of 2025, he was involved in a car crash in New Hampshire in which he suffered a fractured vertebra. After that, Mr. Giuliani made at least one public appearance in a wheelchair.
Mr. Giuliani became mayor in January 1994 after he defeated Mayor David N. Dinkins, who was running for a second term. He remained in office until December 2001 and helped lead the city in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Later, he became a personal lawyer to Mr. Trump during the president’s first term and quickly became embroiled in a number of investigations related to the presidency.
Mr. Giuliani was a crucial part of the team that helped Mr. Trump advance the claim that he won the 2020 election. After Mr. Trump left office, Mr. Giuliani was indicted multiple times and contended with a number of costly defamation suits related to those efforts. Now disbarred, he has kept a far lower profile during Mr. Trump’s second term in office.
Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.
Gunshots were fired in a daytime armed home invasion in Saugus, Massachusetts, on Sunday, police say, and the two suspects are in custody.
No one was hurt in the shooting on Oakwood Avenue about noon, Saugus police said. Two Boston men, Derek Matarazzo and Timothy Gregory, are facing felony charges including home invasion after their arrest shortly after the 911 calls came in.
The calls reported two men in masks, dressed in black, armed with guns, breaking into a house, police said. They didn’t share what led to the gunfire or how the men were tracked down, saying only that the department wasn’t speculating on their motivation.
Matarazzo and Gregory are believed to be the only people directly involved in the home invasion, police said, and it’s believed to be an isolated incident, so there’s no danger to the public.
Neighbors who spoke with NBC10 Boston say they are shaken up by what occurred, describing a shootout right outside their homes in the middle of the day.
Ring camera video from a nearby home shows the aftermath, as neighbors say you can see the homeowner running into the middle of the street with a phone pressed to his ear, desperately flagging down police — after the chaos.
A neighbor tells us his family first heard what sounded like a pop — something they thought could’ve been a lawn mower backfiring, until they realized it was gunfire. That neighbor says one of his daughters then saw a man carrying a safe — dropping it in their front yard — while shots were being fired.
“I saw somebody come out of the house shooting and then we all hit the deck, because you didn’t want a stray bullet to ricochet off something and come through the window or anything like that,” George Benn said.
“I saw the shots. I saw a man go down. I thought he was going to be dead but apparently he just flipped on that hill,” Tom Bushee said.
The investigation is ongoing.
This year’s Pittsburgh Marathon is one for the record books. More than 52,000 runners crossed the finish line, with more than 300,000 spectators cheering them on.
“We’re welcoming people from around the world,” P3R CEO Troy Schooley said. “This event has turned into an international event for our city. We’re going to show it off today. The runners will run through 14 neighborhoods. We have 33 different countries represented today and all 50 states.”
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Mohammed El Youssfi claimed the men’s division of the Pittsburgh Half Marathon, crossing the finish line and immediately wrapping himself in the Moroccan flag.
“This is my first time in Pittsburgh, but the special moment for me today is the people here cheering me on,” El Youssfi said. “That helped me to win the race.”
Emotions ran high for Pittsburgh’s very own Will Loevner. The Winchester Thurston graduate has run the Pittsburgh Marathon multiple times, finishing as the runner-up in 2024 and fifth in 2025. But in 2026, he took home top honors, crossing the finish line first at 2:14.
“I’ve now won the Philadelphia marathon, the Cleveland marathon twice,” Loevner said. “To win Pittsburgh, I feel like it was the trifecta and the most special one for me. I mean, being in the hometown, nothing even compares.”
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Buze Diriba Kejela is 2026’s women’s Pittsburgh Half Marathon champion, setting a course record for women and crossing the finish line at 1:08:39.
“I’m happy to set the course record. I like it,” she said.
Before the runners crossed the start line, the handcyclists got a head start. Marshall Tempest of Monroeville came out on top in the Pittsburgh Marathon Handcycle Division, finishing at 1:40:16.
“I’ve done 13 Pittsburgh marathons, and this is my 5th time winning it, in a row,” he said. “It feels good. It was a rough one, but I was determined to get that 5th one.”
“I love running,” said Will Henry Lawrence, who ran the half-marathon. “I love being able to have breath in my lungs and let my feet hit the pavement. I had a stroke six years ago, and so I give all glory to God for being able to get out and exercise.”
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Tickets for the 2027 Pittsburgh Marathon are on sale for 48 hours, starting at 3 p.m. on May 3, 2026. You can register at thepittsburghmarathon.com
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