A Los Angeles judge granted pop star Sabrina Carpenter a five-year restraining order against a man who, testifying in court on Wednesday, claimed he is part of a “classified military government program” along with the singer.
Speaking in a deep, monotone voice, William Applegate said he had been recruited to the program at a local Los Angeles hotel, that his mission involved “the second coming of Christ,” and that he had to contact Carpenter to save the world.
“Carpenter and I being together as soon as possible is essential,” he told the court. “I’m the center. I’m key to this entire process.”
Carpenter appeared remotely via a video link but did not testify. The judge permitted a media camera in the courtroom, though he said Carpenter could turn off her own camera.
After Applegate testified, Carpenter’s lawyer, Blair Berk, asked for the five-year order, arguing that Applegate had admitted in social media posts and court declarations that he had traveled to Carpenter’s private homes on more than a dozen occasions.
Berk said that on May 23, Applegate “seriously alarmed and harassed” her client when he broke into her neighbor’s property, climbed over a fence, and attempted to open the front door of Carpenter’s house while she was inside. The incident was detailed in the singer’s May 29 filing for an emergency temporary restraining order, which the court granted in advance of Wednesday’s hearing.
In issuing his ruling, Los Angeles County Judge David I. Wasserman ordered Applegate to stay at least 100 yards away from Carpenter at all times until midnight on June 17, 2031, and to keep his distance from her homes, her vehicles, and her places of work. The judge said Applegate can’t try to contact Carpenter and cannot own or possess any firearms or ammunition.
“Sir, I want to be very clear. Please listen closely,” Judge Wasserman said, speaking directly to Applegate in the courtroom. “I understand it’s your belief that in order to save the world, you and [Carpenter] need to be together. I understand that is your belief. [But] this court has issued its order. And I expect you to obey the order, not what you think the military commands of you. … I don’t want you to leave here thinking that your purpose is greater than what I think. The order is the order, and you must follow it. Do you understand?”
Applegate replied, “I understand what you’re saying.”
In a signed declaration previously obtained by Rolling Stone, Carpenter said she had never met Applegate and did not invite him to her home. She called his attempt to enter her front door one of “the most disturbing violations of personal safety and privacy I have ever experienced.”
“His pattern of stalking, trespassing, and surveillance has caused me severe and ongoing emotional distress, and I am in fear what he may do if he is not restrained by this court,” Carpenter wrote.
Applegate was arrested at Carpenter’s home in May after he refused to leave. He is due for a criminal court hearing in that case tomorrow.
“It is my professional opinion that [Applegate] has developed a disturbing and irrational fixation on petitioner,” Los Angeles Police Department Detective Peter Doomanis wrote in a declaration filed with Carpenter’s petition. “The pattern of his conduct, which may have begun as early as approximately April 20, 2026, reflects the hallmarks of a fixated, obsessional individual. … This trajectory is consistent with well-documented patterns of stalking behavior that pose a serious and escalating risk [to] victim safety.”