An Ohio man was arrested and accused of trespassing twice on the California estate of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, late last year, authorities said Monday.
Nickolas Brooks, 37, was booked on misdemeanor trespassing charges after deputies found him on the Montecito property about 3 p.m. Dec. 26, the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Deputies had warned Brooks two days earlier, when they said they found him trespassing on the estate about 4 p.m., the sheriff’s office said.
Brooks was booked and released, authorities said. It wasn’t clear why he had allegedly entered the property or what he was doing when authorities found him.
Efforts to reach him Monday were unsuccessful.
The couple has been in the spotlight after a rare and wide-ranging interview this month with Oprah Winfrey about their split with the royal family.
Among other things, Meghan, who is biracial, revealed that she’d contemplated suicide amid intense and sometimes racist press coverage in the United Kingdom, and that the royal family had discussed how dark their son’s skin color might be when he was born.
Buckingham Palace has said it was “saddened” to learn of the couple’s challenges and said the issues they raised, “particularly that of race, are concerning.”
In a statement, the royal family added that the couple’s allegations would be addressed privately.