LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actor Gina Carano on Tuesday sued Lucasfilm and its parent The Walt Disney Co. over her 2021 firing from “ The Mandalorian,” saying she was let go for expressing right-wing views on social media.

The lawsuit Carano filed with help from X, formerly Twitter, in federal court in California alleges her wrongful termination from the “ Star Wars ” galaxy Disney+ streaming series after two seasons over a post likening the treatment of American conservatives to the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany.

“A short time ago in a galaxy not so far away, Defendants made it clear that only one orthodoxy in thought, speech, or action was acceptable in their empire, and that those who dared to question or failed to fully comply would not be tolerated,” the lawsuit opens. “Carano was terminated from her role as swiftly as her character’s peaceful home planet of Alderaan had been destroyed by the Death Star.”

The lawsuit alleges she was fired because she “dared voice her own opinions” against an “online bully mob who demanded her compliance with their extreme progressive ideology.”

Disney and Lucasfilm have not filed a response to the lawsuit, and representatives did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

A Lucasfilm statement at the time of her firing said “her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”

Carano is seeking damages to be determined at trial and a court order that she be recast on the show.

The “Mandalorian,” starring Pedro Pascal, has aired for three seasons and is now being turned into a feature film. Several interconnected series also air on Disney+.

The lawsuit says Lucasfilm also hurt her future work prospects by making “maliciously false” statements about her.

Carano, a former mixed martial artists who played the recurring character Cara Dune on the bounty hunter tale “The Mandarlorian,” deleted the post but it was widely shared online and spurred a trending #FireGinaCarano hashtag.

Carano had previously been criticized for social media posts that mocked mask wearing during the pandemic and made false allegations of voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election. She also mocked the use of gender pronouns in profiles, listing “beep/bop/boop” in her social media bio. She said this was not about mocking trans people but a “Star Wars” reference to R2-D2, and the lawsuit calls it “a playful way to defuse all the harassment she had received.” But she alleges the issue led to the company harassing her.

The lawsuit says Carano willingly took part in Zoom meetings with leaders of LGBTQ+ groups at the company’s behest with “very positive” results, but that Lucasfilm demanded a public apology in which she admitted “to mocking or insulting an entire group of people, which Carano had never done” and subjected her to other harassment over the issue.

Carano said on social media Tuesday that X had helped fund the lawsuit. X owner Elon Musk shared her post, adding that anyone else who felt they had been wronged by the company should “let us know if you would like to join the lawsuit against Disney.”

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When it comes to dealing with a Florida college student who uses public data and social media to track the private jets of billionaires, politicians and other celebrities, Taylor Swift apparently can’t just shake it off.

In late December, Swift’s camp hit Jack Sweeney, a junior studying information technology at the University of Central Florida, with a cease-and-desist letter that blamed his automated tracking of her private jet for tipping off stalkers as to her location. In the letter, attorneys from the law firm Venable accused Sweeney of effectively providing “individuals intent on harming her, or with nefarious or violent intentions, a roadmap to carry out their plans.”

Sweeney provided the link to that letter in an email to The Associated Press. In that message, he emphasized that while he has never intended to cause harm, he also believes strongly in the importance of transparency and public information.

“One should reasonably expect that their jet will be tracked, whether or not I’m the one doing it, as it is public information after all,” he wrote.

A spokesperson for Swift echoed the legal complaint, saying that “the timing of stalkers” suggests a connection to Sweeney’s flight-tracking sites. The spokesperson did not respond to questions seeking elaboration of that charge, such as whether stalkers have been seen waiting for Swift at the airport when her plane arrived or, alternatively, if there is evidence that stalkers have somehow inferred Swift’s subsequent location from the arrival time of her flight.

The legal letter likewise accuses Sweeney of “disregarding the personal safety of others”; “willful and repeated harassment of our client”; and “intentional, offensive, and outrageous conduct and consistent violations of our client’s privacy.”

Such statements are difficult to square with the fact that Sweeney’s automated tracking accounts merely repackage public data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration, a government agency. That fact did not dissuade the Venable attorneys, who demanded that Sweeney “immediately stop providing information about our client’s location to the public.”

The Swift spokesperson did not reply to a question inquiring whether the attorneys had issued the same demand to the FAA.

At one point Sweeney had more than 30 such accounts on Twitter, now known as X after Elon Musk purchased the site for $44 billion in 2022. Musk subsequently had his own dustup with Sweeney, tweeting at one point that his commitment to free speech required him not to ban Sweeney’s @elonjet account even though he considered it “a direct personal safety risk.”

But it wasn’t long before Musk abruptly about-faced and effectively banned the student from X, accusing Sweeney of endangering his personal safety.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Amid warnings about counterfeit goods, human trafficking and illegal drones at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, federal, state and local security officials said Monday they’re preparing for a busy week in the air, at airports, at Allegiant Stadium and in merchandise shops as crowds arrive for the NFL championship game.

Representatives from agencies including Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration — accompanied by a bomb-sniffing beagle named Ozzie — briefed the media at Harry Reid International Airport about their plans to counter such illegal activity.

The officials displayed a table piled high with knockoff sports memorabilia including jerseys, T-shirts, caps, beanies and a sparkling silver replica of the Vince Lombardi Super Bowl trophy.

“The merchandise you see on display today is nothing compared to the millions of fake goods that criminals will try to sell online, on the street and through other unauthorized sources,” said Cheryl Davies, lead Super Bowl field coordinator for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “Our message is clear: Don’t buy this stuff.”

“We have collectively surged resources in the months leading up to the Super Bowl to identify and target individuals illegally importing counterfeit goods into the United States,” said Christopher Miller, Homeland Security Investigations agent in charge in Las Vegas.

Investigators seized nearly $1 million worth of counterfeit merchandise from four locations just during the last weekend, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said after the briefing. He declined to provide details, saying investigations were continuing.

The air around Allegiant Stadium next Sunday has been designated by the Federal Aviation Administration as a “no drone zone.” Takeover signals and jammers will be used if necessary, said Karen Burke, TSA Nevada security director.

Commercial air operations at nearby Harry Reid Airport are not expected to be affected. But Davies said customs agency Blackhawk and A-star helicopters will be aloft to protect airspace and enforce no-fly zones.

Ralph Lepore, an airport administrator with the Clark County Department of Aviation, focused on efforts to stem human trafficking, which he said was neither new nor exclusive to big events.

“We’re reminding all our employees, partners and guests to be alert and act if they see something suspicious,” he said. “It’s extremely important.”

Burke noted that TSA officers were trained to spot human trafficking and that extra agents will be added to handle record post-game crowds expected to top more than 100,000 passengers a day early next week at Harry Reid airport. She promised that every lane of every airport security checkpoint will be open nonstop for 48 hours after the Super Bowl ends.