San Diego, CA
San Diego Navy SEAL accused of extremism faces punishment over threats
The Navy investigation into a San Diego Navy SEAL accused of having ties to extremists concluded the sailor didn’t violate Pentagon rules against participation in extremist activity, according to a Navy official with knowledge of the investigation.
The official is not authorized to comment publicly on the case.
The Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado launched an investigation into Chief Special Warfare Operator Bryce Henson in November. The SEAL spent more than a year prior speaking at rallies, city councils and school boards — first against Critical Race Theory then against LGBTQ+ student rights.
Photos and videos from several events showed Henson in the company of alleged members of the Proud Boys, a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate group.
Henson was also photographed alongside a man with a large Nazi eagle tattoo on his head and swastika tattoo on his arm during two separate Santee anti-LGBTQ+ rallies in January 2023.
He was featured in a Los Angeles Times investigation into the coordinated conservative actions at Southern California school boards in October.
The Navy’s investigation into Henson was finished in mid-January, the Navy official said. Although Henson was cleared of extremism allegations the investigator did find the SEAL engaged in threatening behavior, according to the official.
Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice — military law — communicating threats is punishable under Article 115.
It’s not clear what threats the Navy’s investigation reviewed and the official did not say. But on Jan. 25 — after the investigation was complete — Henson took to Instagram to share a video of himself shooting guns.
“Since certain people leaked my work history to the press,” Henson wrote in the video’s caption, “I guess I’ll share my skill sets with my friends in hopes to spread awareness of exercising our 2nd Amendment rights safely and legally. …”
The video features Henson, in his Navy uniform, giving basic gun safety instructions and shooting.
Henson shared another video speculating on the identity of an anonymous Instagram user who runs an account called “TheChartyB.” The person running the account maintains a website that charts connections between several right-wing groups and figures prominently in the Southern California anti-LGBTQ+ school board movement.
Henson is featured in the chart.
In the second video, Henson incorrectly identified San Diego journalist Brooke Binkowski as the person behind TheChartyB.
Binkowski covers disinformation and previously worked for fact-checking news sites. She said people only threaten journalists when they’re doing a good job.
“Despite what far-right activists think, I am not the same person as the one running TheChartyB,” Binkowski wrote in a statement. “However, I do believe the threats … are an attempt to abrogate and interfere with my 1st Amendment rights and a threat to the public’s right to a free press.”
Henson also sent a direct message to TheChartyB on Instagram telling them to “show their face.”
Just past midnight on Jan. 26, Henson sent his shooting video to TheChartyB in an Instagram DM and wrote, “share with your friends.”
Screenshot courtesy of TheChartyB
The person behind the account told KPBS she feared for her safety.
“It felt very threatening,” she said. “To me, it’s clearly threatening. He said ‘share with your friends.’”
She describes herself as a “suburban housewife” who cares about LGBTQ+ rights. KPBS agreed not to publish her name over her safety concerns.
“It’s scary having somebody send you threatening messages when they’ve been trained by the U.S. military to be a killing machine,” she said.
She began tracking Henson last year when he started showing up in Temecula where a new conservative school board took over in late 2022.
Henson first appeared early in 2023 when the school board voted to ban critical race theory. He also spoke out when the board moved to reject the California state social studies curriculum over material covering the gay-rights movement.
In August, it voted to require teachers to tell parents when their child asks to use a different name, pronoun or identifies as transgender at school. The moves mobilized Temecula’s LGBTQ+ community.
Members of that community told KPBS, Henson began harassing and threatening them months before the Navy’s investigation began.
Judy Bailey Savage owns the Savage Ranch. Situated in the hills overlooking the Temecula wine country, the ranch serves as a refuge for the area’s queer community, Savage said.
Savage said, even though she didn’t attend Temecula Valley School Board meetings, Henson began leaving rude comments on her Instagram posts from anonymous accounts. Other community activists told her about him, so she responded the next time a troll commented on her account.
“I said, ‘oh, it’s you, Bryce,’” Savage said. “And he said: ‘Yes.’”
She said Henson once called her late at night and asked if she knew who it was. She said when she told him she didn’t know, the person on the phone said “I’m Bryce.”
“I asked him, ‘why are you stalking me, why are you calling me?’” Savage said. “And he goes, ‘well, I’ve already surveilled your property.’”
Temecula pastor Rachel Dennis, a parent of a trans child, said even if Henson himself isn’t dangerous, she isn’t sure about his nearly 7,000 Instagram followers.
“Because we see that extremism and the language on his Instagram … can then produce the violence in in some people,” Dennis said.
She said the experiences of the last year have the Temecula LGBTQ+ community on alert.
“Sometimes, you know, we’re sitting out here scared, honestly,” she said. “Navy SEAL, I mean, you’re talking about somebody who’s been trained in special operations, in weapons — so, yeah, that makes it a little bit more scary, right?”
In an emailed statement, Henson didn’t comment on the allegations of sending threats. Instead, he writes that he’s a father who’s been smeared by people.
Bishop Garrison, a senior fellow with the National Security Institute at George Mason Law School, who helped craft new Pentagon rules on extremism among service members, said there’s real danger when members of the military become radicalized.
“It is a very small, minute group of actors that have engaged this type of activity, but our major concerns is that this activity has a direct outsized impact,” Garrison said. “Not only can you can you deteriorate unit cohesion, not only can you disrupt the good order and discipline of units — people get hurt.”
He says the Pentagon’s policy on extremist behavior is written broadly so that any allegations need to be considered in context, but it’s not perfect. Further action is needed to address the problem.
“What we need is for … Congress to stand up and make some very specific laws and rules around what our expectations of this type of behavior, really, truly should be,” Garrison said.
The Navy classifies Henson’s investigation as administrative and a Naval Special Warfare spokesperson said he won’t comment on any administrative actions.
“When there are allegations of misconduct, we investigate and take appropriate action based on the facts,” said Cmdr. William Tisdale. “We expect our sailors who choose to engage in public discourse to do so peacefully and in a lawful manner. As a matter of policy, we will not release specific details about administrative matters regarding our sailors.”
A Navy official with knowledge of the case Henson could either receive minor punishment or more serious repercussions, such as being kicked out of the SEALs or the Navy altogether.
San Diego, CA
Military bases in San Diego County increase security following Iran attacks
SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Military bases in San Diego County and nationwide have increased security measures due to last weekend’s U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, prompting traffic delays near base entrances, enhanced ID checks and access restrictions.
The Naval Air Station North Island on Coronado ports three aircraft carriers, including the San Diego-based USS Abraham Lincoln, which led some of the first-wave attacks on Saturday.
Naval Base Coronado warned motorists of possible traffic delays at all base entry points due to the increased security measures.
Targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields.
The U.S. operation, dubbed “Epic Fury,” and Israeli operation, “Raging Lion,” began striking targets at 1:15 a.m. Eastern Time Saturday.
As of Tuesday, at least six U.S. service members had been killed in action.
The strikes also killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei, who had been Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, making him the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East.
Iran’s offensive forces claimed to have struck USS Abraham Lincoln with ballistic missiles, but according to an X post from U.S central Command, “The Lincoln was not hit. The missiles launched didn’t even come close. The Lincoln continues to launch aircraft in support of CENTCOM’s relentless campaign to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime.”
Those with concerns regarding the heightened security can contact San Diego County’s Office of Emergency Services at 858-565-3490 or oes@sdcounty.ca.gov.
Copyright 2026, City News Service, Inc.
San Diego, CA
SD Unified moves forward with layoffs of classified employees
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Less than 3 weeks after the San Diego Unified School District finalized a new contract with teachers, the school board voted unanimously on Tuesday to move forward with layoff notices for other district employees.
The layoffs affect classified employees — workers who are employed by the district but are not teachers and are not certified. That includes bus drivers, custodians, special education and teacher aides, and cafeteria workers.
The district says it is eliminating 221 positions — 133 that are currently filled and 88 that are vacant — to save $19 million and help address a projected $47 million deficit for the next fiscal year.
Preliminary layoff notices will go out on March 15, with final notices by May 15.
The district estimates about 200 classified employees will receive preliminary notices, but of them, about 70 are expected to lose their jobs based on union-negotiated bumping rules.
Bumping allows employees with more seniority to move into another position in the same classification, thereby “bumping” a less senior employee out of that role.
Lupe Murray, an early childhood special education parafacilitator with the district, said the news came as a shock after the teacher strike was called off.
“When the strike was called off, I’m like, ‘Yes!’ So then when I got the email from the Superintendent, I’m like, ‘Wait, what?’ So, I think everyone was shocked,” Murray said.
The district says it sends out annual layoff notices, as all districts in the state do.
Before Tuesday’s board meeting, classified employees rallied outside, made up of CSEA (California School Employees Association) Chapters OTBS 788, Paraeducators 759, and OSS 724. They were joined by parents, students, and the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO.
Miguel Arellano, a paraeducator independence facilitator with San Diego Unified and a representative of San Diego Paraeducators Cahpter 759.
“What do we want? No layoffs! When do we want it? Now!” the crowd chanted.
Arellano said he felt compelled to act when he learned about the potential layoffs.
“The first thing that went through my mind was that I need to speak up. I need to protect these people,” Arellano said.
Inside the meeting, the board heard emotional, at times tearful testimony from classified employees before voting unanimously to move forward with the layoff schedule.
Superintendent Fabi Bagula said the district has tried to protect classrooms from the cuts.
“We have tried our best to only, I mean, to not touch the school. Or the classroom. But now it’s at the point where it’s getting a little bit harder,” Bagula said. “What I’m still hoping, or what I’m still working toward, because we’re still in negotiations, is that we’re able to actually come to a win-win, where there’s positions and availability and maybe even promotions for folks that are impacted.”
Arellano warned the layoffs could have a direct impact on students.
“We are already spread thin, so, with more of a case load, it’s going to be impossible to be able to service all the students that we need to have,” Arellano said.
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This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
San Diego, CA
Scripps Oceanography granted $15M for deep sea, glacier science
The Fund for Science and Technology, a new private foundation, granted Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego $15 million for ocean science Tuesday.
FFST, funded by the estate of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, was started in 2025 with a commitment to invest at least $500 million over four years to “propel transformative science and technology for people and the planet.”
“Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego is pushing boundaries for exploration and discovery across the global ocean,” Chancellor Pradeep Khosla said. “This visionary support from the Fund for Science and Technology will enable Scripps researchers to advance our understanding of our planet, which has meaningful implications for communities around the world.”
The grant, the largest of its kind since Scripps joined UCSD in 1960, will go toward research in three areas: monitoring of environmental DNA and other biomolecules in marine ecosystems, adding to the Argo network of ocean observing robots, and enhancing the study of ocean conditions beneath Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier, often referred to as the “Doomsday Glacier.”
Scripps Institution of Oceanography has used Argo floats for more than two decades to track climate impacts in our oceans. NBC 7 meteorologist Greg Bledsoe reports.
“The Fund for Science and Technology was created to support transformational science in the search of answers to some of the planet’s most complex questions,” said Dr. Lynda Stuart, president and CEO at the fund. “Scripps has a long tradition of leadership at the frontiers of ocean and climate science, and this work builds on that legacy — strengthening the tools and insights needed to understand our environment at a truly global and unprecedented scale.”
Scripps Director Emeritus Margaret Leinen will use a portion of the grant in her analysis of eDNA — free-floating fragments of DNA shed by organisms into the environment — in understudied parts of the ocean to collect crucial baseline data on marine organisms, according to a statement from Scripps.
“In many regions, we know very little about the microbial communities that form the base of the ocean food web or that make deep sea ecosystems so unique,” Leinen said. “Without data, we can’t predict how these communities are going to respond to climate change or what the consequences might be. That’s a vulnerability — and this funding will help us begin to address it.”
Using autonomous samplers that can collect ocean water for eDNA analysis, as well as conventional sampling, scientists will use tools to “reveal the biology of the open ocean and polar regions.”
According to Scripps, the international Argo program has more than 4,000 floats that drift with currents and periodically dive to measure temperature, salinity and pressure. Standard floats can record data up to depths of 2,000 meters (6,560 feet), while newer Deep Argo floats can dive to 6,000 meters (19,685 feet).
The grant funding announced Tuesday will allow for Scripps to deploy around 50 Deep Argo floats along with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory.
Sarah Purkey, physical oceanographer at Scripps and Argo lead, said this leap forward in deep ocean monitoring comes at a crucial time because the deep sea has warmed faster than expected over the last two decades.
Thwaites Glacier is Antarctica’s largest collapsing glacier and contains enough ice to raise global sea level by roughly two feet if it were to collapse entirely. According to Scripps, prior expeditions led by scientist Jamin Greenbaum discovered anomalously warm water beneath the glacier’s ice shelf — contributing to melting from below. Greenbaum now seeks to collect water samples and other measurements from beneath Thwaites’ ice tongue to disentangle the drivers of its rapid melting.
This season’s Antarctic fieldwork will “test hypotheses about the drivers of Thwaites’ rapid melt with implications for sea-level rise projections,” the statement from Scripps said.
“The ocean holds answers to some of the most pressing questions about our planet’s future, but only if we can observe it,” said Meenakshi Wadhwa, director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography and vice chancellor for marine sciences at UCSD. “This historic grant will help ocean scientists bring new tools and approaches to parts of the ocean we’ve barely begun to explore.”
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