A Los Angeles judge granted Sabrina Carpenter a five-year restraining order against William Applegate on Wednesday, ordering him to stay at least 100 yards away from her until midnight on June 17, 2031. Judge David I. Wasserman also barred Applegate from contacting Carpenter, going near her homes, vehicles or workplaces, and from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition.
The ruling came after Applegate testified that he was part of a “classified military government program” with Carpenter. He told the court he had been recruited at a local Los Angeles hotel, said his mission involved the second coming of Christ, and insisted he had to contact her to save the world. When Wasserman pressed him, the judge told him, “Sir, I want to be very clear. Please listen closely,” and added, “I understand it’s your belief that in order to save the world, you and [Carpenter] need to be together.” Applegate answered, “I understand what you’re saying.”
Carpenter appeared remotely by video link and did not testify, but her filing carried the weight of the case. Blair Berk asked for the five-year order after Applegate testified, saying he had traveled to Carpenter’s private homes on more than a dozen occasions. She also told the court that on May 23, Applegate broke into a neighbor’s property, climbed over a fence and tried to open Carpenter’s front door while she was inside.
Carpenter said she had never met Applegate and had not invited him to her home. She described his attempt to get in as one of “the most disturbing violations of personal safety and privacy I have ever experienced,” and said his pattern of stalking, trespassing and surveillance had caused severe and ongoing emotional distress. She said she feared what he may do if the court did not restrain him.
That fear was not abstract. Applegate was arrested at Carpenter’s home in May after he refused to leave, and he is due for a criminal court hearing tomorrow in that case. The restraining order is now the main civil barrier keeping him away from her, but it does not explain why he says he believed he was part of the same program as Carpenter in the first place. That gap, and whatever the criminal hearing adds to it, is what will matter next.
