Chad Michael Busto: ‘Stalker’ who barged into dressing room and yelled ‘I want to marry Emma Watson’ arrested
A man accused of repeatedly stalking celebrities has been arrested for barging into a dressing room at a New York City fashion show and screaming that he wanted to marry Emma Watson, police say.
Chad Michael Busto, who was arrested last month after attempts to approach Drew Barrymore, pleaded not guilty to criminal trespass and disorderly conduct charges in the incident, which took place last week at the Ralph Lauren show at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
The 43-year-old was released without bail. He will next appear in court on 2 October.
According to prosecutors, Busto entered the fashion show dressing room last Friday night and screamed: “I want to marry Emma Watson. Let me speak to Emma Watson. Let me take a photo with Emma Watson.”
Busto, who did not have permission to be at the fashion show, became irate when he was asked to leave and refused to do so, according to authorities.
It isn’t clear if Watson – best known for playing Hermione Granger in Harry Potter – was at the fashion show. Other stars to have attended that day include Jennifer Lopez, Julianne Moore and James Marsden.
Last month, Busto was arrested in Southampton Town on Long Island after police received reports he was riding his bicycle up and down private driveways, searching for Barrymore.
Days before, he had interrupted an on-stage interview in Manhattan where Barrymore was interviewing singer and actor Renee Rapp.
Busto had approached the stage shouting: “Drew Barrymore! “My name is Chad Michael Busto. You know who I am. I need to see you at some point while you’re in New York, okay?”
Barrymore went on to leave the stage safely with Rapp, while security guards escorted Busto out of the theatre.
Last week, after Busto failed to show up to be fitted for a court-ordered GPS tag, a Southampton judge issued a warrant for his arrest.
Busto, who’s been linked to addresses of shelters and church ministries in California and Washington DC, has a history of arrests and unusual behaviour. His record includes prior arrests for trespassing, disorderly conduct and indecent exposure.
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In a handwritten lawsuit last year, Busto claimed he’d been granted ownership of the Hilton hotels chain. That case was swiftly dismissed.
Other lawsuits under Busto’s name include one seeking to challenge the prison sentences of all criminal defendants in “all prisons on Planet Earth”.
In a 2021 court filing, Busto wrote that he was “Born by Force” and that his parents are “More Guilty for My Entire Existence as Two Humans Than the One (Sort of) Human I am Generally Considered to Be!”
Another Busto court filing consisted mostly of Pokemon cards.
Dozens of supporters were outside court as the man accused of fatally shooting the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare made his first appearance.
Luigi Mangione has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of murder following the 4 December killing of Brian Thompson, 50, outside a midtown Manhattan hotel.
The 26-year-old is accused of ambushing and shooting the executive as he walked to an investor conference.
Luigi Mangione supporters stand outside the Supreme Court. Pic: AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah
Dozens of people who showed up in court to support the suspect including former army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning who was jailed for stealing classified diplomatic cables.
Dozens more queued in the hallway.
Mangione is also facing federal charges that could carry the possibility of the death penalty.
The judge set a deadline of 9 April to submit pre-trial motions.
Luigi Mangione is accused of fatally shooting Brian Thompson. Pic: Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP
In addition to the New York cases, Mr Mangione also faces charges of forgery, carrying firearms without a licence, and other counts in Pennsylvania, where authorities arrested him at a McDonald’s.
Police say he was in possession of a gun, bullets, multiple fake IDs and a handwritten document that expressed “ill will” towards corporate America.
He is being held in a Brooklyn jail alongside several other high-profile defendants, including music mogul and rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, and disgraced crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried.
The killing prompted some to voice their resentment at US health insurers, with Mangione attracting a cult following.
A poll taken in the wake of the shooting showed most Americans believe health insurance profits and coverage denials were partly to blame for the incident.
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have not “done anything” to end the Ukraine war, US President Donald Trump has said.
He called the French president a “friend of mine” and the UK leader a “nice guy” but said Russia had only agreed to negotiate “because of me”.
Mr Trump made the comments days before both leaders visit the White House for a meeting in which they must try to press Ukraine‘s case while keeping the US leader onside.
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron in Paris: Pic: Number 10/Flickr
The president also continued his criticism of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he had “no cards” to play.
“I’ve been watching for years, and I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards. And you get sick of it. You just get sick of it. And I’ve had it,” he told a Fox radio show.
The comments come after he recently called the Ukrainian leader a “dictator without elections” – apparently in response to Mr Zelenskyy saying his US counterpart was living in a “disinformation space” after Mr Trump claimed Ukraine had started the war.
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US and Russia hold talks in Saudi Arabia
Ukraine was also excluded from talks between the top US and Russian diplomats in Riyadh earlier this week.
They were intended to set the stage for future negotiations on ending the war, which started when Russia launched a full-scale invasion three years ago.
Speaking on Friday evening, Mr Trump denied speculation he could visit Moscow for talks on 9 May – the day Russia celebrates its victory over the Nazis.
President Trump speaks in the Oval Office on Friday. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump also told reporters the Russian and Ukrainian leaders needed to “work together” to end the war.
However, the US has already dealt a huge blow to Kyiv’s position in any future talks.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said last week that a return to pre-war borders was “unrealistic” and ruled out NATO membership as way to guarantee Kyiv’s security.
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President Zelenskyy has insisted he will not accept any deal that his country is not involved in.
Ukraine’s leader held talks with US envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv on Thursday, describing it later as a “good discussion”.
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Mr Kellogg struck a markedly different tone to President Trump when he called Mr Zelenskyy the “courageous leader of a nation at war”.
However, there are concerns over how much influence Mr Kellogg has, with a Ukrainian source saying there was a sense he had been sidelined.
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