Trump's envoy faces protests in Venice on latest stop of super yacht diplomacy tour

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Several hundred protesters marched Friday against the arrival in Venice of the billionaire American ambassador's luxury yacht, briefly clashing with riot police as they neared the vessel.

Activists described hospitality mogul Tilman Fertitta’s arrival as an unwelcome display of American wealth and influence at a time when many Italians see the Trump administration upending the post-World War II international order.

They marched carrying inflatable water toys and beach balls behind a sign reading: “Venezia non si USA,” a play on words meaning “Venice is not to be used,” with the USA acronym capitalized.

Protesters raised their arms to show they were peaceful as they reached a double line of riot police blocking access to the super yacht, but police pushed back with their shields when the demonstrators refused to stop. Inflatable toys flew through the air. After the clash, protesters yelled “Shame!” at the ambassador, the mayor and the police.

Fertitta arrived in Venice earlier Friday, mooring in St. Mark’s Basin as part of a coastal diplomacy tour marking the 250th anniversary of American independence. Police boats were stationed around his yacht, which dwarfed buildings along the banks of the lagoon, and a heavy police presence accompanied the demonstrators, who carried signs reading “Make America Read Again” and “Oligarch in saor,” a reference to a Venetian specialty with sardines.

The so-called Coastal Diplomacy 250 tour of 13 Italian coastal regions on a super yacht is intended to celebrate “our shared history, our economic partnership, and the cultural bonds that make the U.S.-Italy relationship so special,” Fertitta said in a social media post.

Fertitta declined a request for an interview to discuss the tour and the planned protest, but he issued a short statement supporting the right to protest.

“I like Italians, we Americans respect freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest; Coastal Diplomacy celebrates our nation’s founding and these fundamental rights,” Fertitta said in the statement, adding that the tour has “been an amazing way for me to meet Italians from all walks of life and to celebrate 250 years of U.S. independence and decades of friendship with Italy.”

In Venice, many of the same groups that protested the wedding last year of Jeff Bezos to Lauren Sanchez mobilized against Fertitta’s arrival aboard the 117-meter (384-foot) luxury yacht, Boardwalk, which features two helipads, a pair of swimming pools and a fully equipped spa and gym.

On July 4, protest organizers unfurled a banner as long as Fertitta’s yacht to illustrate what the protesters called “the dimensions of his arrogance.”

“It’s arrogant to think he can do what he wants in a city that is ever more sold to the single culture of tourism,’’ organizer Stella Morion told The Associated Press. She said protesters are also opposed to President Donald Trump’s international politics, including U.S. strikes on Iran, which she said have prompted a spike in energy prices.

“It is the umpteenth slap in the face of a city and all of the people in Venice who struggle to reach the end of the month due to an increase in prices caused by Trump’s war,” she said.

Protesters were taken aback by the sight of the yacht, which at six stories was taller than neighboring buildings. “It's gross,” said activist Tommaso Cacciari.

Emanuele Lepore, another activist, said the presence of the towering yacht provoked in him “first and foremost rage" after a long fight to ban cruise ships from the Giudecca Canal and historic center.

“To see such a big ship be able to stay in the lagoon of Venice is a shame,” Lepore said. “The message is rather clear: For the new oligarchs to be able to travel around and normalize war and fascism, there must be local oligarchs.”

The billionaire owner of Fertitta Entertainment was sworn in as ambassador to Italy in 2025. He made his fortune in the hospitality industry, including restaurants, hotels and casinos. He also owns the NBA’s Houston Rockets. His official biography puts his net worth at $11.3 billion, and notes that Forbes ranks him among the 100 wealthiest Americans.

Details of who Fertitta will meet while in Venice have not been released, but he is expected to attend the famed Redentore festival on Saturday, which commemorates the end of the plague in 1576 culminating with celebratory fireworks over St. Mark’s Basin.

He has already stopped over in the Sicilian port town of Cefalu, where his family’s roots trace back to 1566, and met with the governor in Palermo. Other stops have included the Calabrian port of Le Castella and he sailed along the coast of Puglia and up the Adriatic coastline en route to Venice.

Political analyst Giovanni Orsina said that the image of an ambassador sailing the Italian coast in an act of diplomacy “is pretty novel.”

“Certainly an ambassador using his own resources and his own yacht to make this kind of traveling diplomacy as far as I know is pretty unusual. It can be perceived negatively, on the one hand, but it also can be taken as a sign of attention toward the country,″ said Orsina, who is head of the political science department at Rome’s Luiss University.

Fertitta’s tenure includes navigating a cooling in the once warm relationship between Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Trump, who has made a series of social media attacks against her. Meloni, who was once seen as a close political ally in Europe with similar views on such issues as immigration, did not attend 250th celebrations at the U.S. Embassy.

Demonstrators gather to protest against U.S. Ambassador Tilman Fertitta's luxury yacht 'Boardwalk" presence in Venice, Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Police officers face demonstrators gathered to protest against U.S. Ambassador Tilman Fertitta's luxury yacht 'Boardwalk" presence in Venice, Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) CORRECTS NAME OF YACHT TO BOARDWALK INSTEAD OF BOARDWALL"

Police officers confront demonstrators gathered to protest against U.S. Ambassador Tilman Fertitta's superyacht 'Boardwall' presence in Venice, Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

U.S. Ambassador Tilman Fertitta's superyacht 'Boardwall' is docked as part of "Freedom 250 Coastal Diplomacy" tour, as protest by activists is expected this afternoon, in Venice, Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

U.S. Ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta, center, with his wife Lauren Ware, second from left, is backdropped by the bell tower of St. Mark's Basilica upon arrival in Venice, Italy, Friday, July 17, 2026, aboard his super yacht, Boardwalk, as part of his "Freedom 250 Coastal Diplomacy" tour.(AP Photo/Luigi Costantini)

A poster of the protest against U.S. Ambassador Tilman Fertitta's superyacht 'Boardwall' presence, hangs on a wall in Venice, Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

U.S. Ambassador Tilman Fertitta's superyacht 'Boardwall' is docked as part of "Freedom 250 Coastal Diplomacy" tour, as protest by activists is expected this afternoon, in Venice, Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A poster of the protest against U.S. Ambassador Tilman Fertitta's superyacht 'Boardwall' presence, hangs on a wall in Venice, Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

U.S. Ambassador Tilman Fertitta's superyacht 'Boardwall' is docked as part of "Freedom 250 Coastal Diplomacy" tour, as protest by activists is expected this afternoon, in Venice, Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Just days before two teenagers carried out a mass shooting at a San Diego mosque, federal law enforcement officials warned the parents of one of the shooters that their son was making concerning comments about school shootings on the dark web, according to new details included in a recently filed lawsuit.

The mother of Caleb Vazquez alleges in her lawsuit that Park Mental Health Treatment of San Diego failed to intervene despite signs that her 18-year-old son posed an imminent threat to himself and others. Vazquez was living there and receiving treatment for a range of mental health conditions, including depression and psychotic episodes, the lawsuit says. The court filings follow a number of high-profile convictions of guardians who provided teenagers with weapons that were later used in mass shootings.

The FBI called Vazquez’s mother on the evening of May 14, and she said she immediately left a message with the treatment facility to notify its staff, according to the lawsuit, filed in a San Diego court on Aug. 31. Vazquez’s mother again shared the FBI’s warnings with her son’s therapist on May 15 and with a program director later that night.

On May 18, the morning of the shooting, employees at the facility contacted Vazquez’s mother to tell her that he was missing. Video surveillance footage subsequently showed Vazquez leaving the property at 8 p.m. the night before.

Vazquez’s parents were driving around looking for him on the morning of the shooting. Vazquez and another teenager killed three people at the San Diego mosque that day before taking their own lives.

It is unclear whether Vazquez was allowed to leave the previous evening or whether he broke facility rules by doing so. Park Mental Health offers a range of treatment options, some of which advertise 24-hour surveillance, while others provide more limited counseling.

The center did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Saturday afternoon. In a previous statement to radio station KPBS, Park Mental Health disputed the assertions in the lawsuit.

“While it is understandable that his parents might seek to blame someone in their time of loss, this lawsuit is misguided in that neither Park nor its employees are responsible for Mr. Vazquez’s actions,” the statement to KPBS read. “Only he and his coconspirator bear responsibility for their conduct and, ultimately, his death.”

An FBI spokesperson declined to comment Saturday, citing agency policy.

The FBI’s alleged contact with Vazquez’s parents was not the first sign of his mental deterioration.

Vazquez had been hospitalized for roughly three days in January 2026 after telling a classmate that he wanted to carry out a school shooting.

Almost exactly a year earlier, Vazquez was flagged to law enforcement for exhibiting alarming behavior and idolizing Nazis, prompting police to confiscate 26 guns from his father under a 2014 California law allowing firearms to be taken from people considered dangerous.

Authorities have said Vazquez met the other shooter, Cain Clark, 17, online and that both were radicalized there. Police have not shared more details about how they knew each other or specified whose weapons were used in the shooting.

The lawsuit was filed on the same day that North Carolina authorities announced the indictment of a 17-year-old in connection with the shooting.

FILE - Candles with shooting victim's names written on them sit outside the Islamic Center of San Diego, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil, File)

FILE - People gather as police vehicles are parked outside of the Islamic Center the day after a shooting in San Diego, May 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - People embrace near the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center in San Diego, May 18, 2026, (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)