Teenager pleas guilty to attacking California sea lion in viral video

Tyler Muehl, 18, could face a year in prison for kicking marine animal four times on La Jolla coast

An 18-year-old California man has admitted he kicked a sea lion in a video that went viral recently – while referring to himself by the name of an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) competitor – and has pleaded guilty to a federal crime.

Tyler Muehl, of San Diego’s La Jolla neighborhood, faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine after acknowledging in court on Thursday that he violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act’s prohibition on harassment of wildlife, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

In court papers, Muehl conceded that he repeatedly kicked a protected sea lion that was peacefully sitting on a wall in La Jolla Cove near Ellen Browning Scripps Park on the night of 22 July 2026. He said he went up to the animal with his hands up as if he were readying himself to fight the sea lion and referred to himself by the name of former UFC featherweight division champion Max Holloway as he approached the creature.

Muehl confessed to kicking the sea lion four times. He twice kicked the creature’s face, causing it to “rear, flinch and immediately recoil” as well as prompting it to try to flee. Muehl then chased the sea lion and kicked the animal a third time as it stumbled on the wall, prosecutors said in their statement.

After Muehl continued pursuing the creature and kicked it a fourth time, the sea lion managed to escape him by getting over the sea wall and making it to an adjacent beach.

A video of the brutal attack surfaced on social media days later, and Muehl agreed in court that the widely circulated footage constituted “a fair and accurate recording of what occurred”.

Muehl was charged in a misdemeanor bill of information on Thursday that evidently marked the first time he was publicly identified in connection with the video of the sea lion being victimized. He pleaded guilty at his arraignment later that same day and was tentatively scheduled to be sentenced before the US magistrate judge Jill L Burkhardt on the morning of 20 October.

Federal court minutes show Muehl could remain out of custody pending his sentencing, and he was ordered to abstain from alcohol or marijuana.

In a statement after Muehl’s guilty plea, the US attorney for the southern district of California , Adam Gordon, said, “Federal crime. Federal consequences.”

Eric Morgan of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries office of law enforcement – which investigated Muehl – said the agency “takes all violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act very seriously”.

“Intentionally striking or kicking a marine mammal is not only illegal – it is dangerous for the well-being of the animal,” Morgan’s statement said.

The Guardian has emailed Muehl’s listed attorney for comment.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s guidelines caution people who are viewing sea lions, seals and other species covered by the Marine Mammal Protection Act to remain at least 150ft (46 meters) away from them.