California High-Speed Rail CEO Ian Choudri Arrested on Domestic Battery Charges — and Released Without Prosecution
- Choudri, 57, was arrested just after midnight following a domestic disturbance call to his home in Folsom.
Ian Choudri, the South Asian American CEO of California’s embattled High-Speed Rail Authority, was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery at his Folsom home on Feb. 4, adding a personal legal chapter to a project already under intense political and financial siege.
The arrest — which came one day after Choudri appeared alongside Gov. Gavin Newsom at a milestone celebration in Kern County — sent shockwaves through Sacramento and drew fresh scrutiny to a multibillion-dollar infrastructure project that is fighting for its survival without federal funding.
Prosecutors declined to file charges, and Choudri’s attorney said the matter is closed. But the episode has raised uncomfortable questions about leadership stability at an agency navigating one of the most turbulent periods in its troubled history.
Choudri, 57, was arrested just after midnight following a domestic disturbance call to his home on the 500 block of Borges Court in Folsom, according to The Sacramento Bee, citing Folsom police logs.
Sgt. John Triplett of the Folsom Police Department confirmed the arrest on suspicion of battery against a spouse, a misdemeanor.
At the time of the arrest, Choudri was with his fiancée, his attorney said.
Choudri did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment.
Charges Declined
In a statement provided to CBS News Sacramento, Choudri’s attorney, Allen Sawyer, said the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office did not file any charges against the CEO. “I can confirm that the Sacramento District Attorney’s Office immediately declined to file charges when an incident report was forwarded to them by the Folsom Police Department,” Sawyer said. “Mr. Choudri was never asked to appear in court and this matter is over.”
A different version of the timeline emerged in the Los Angeles Times, which reported that Choudri was set to appear in court Feb. 6 but was notified by the Sacramento district attorney’s office that they had declined to file charges. “This matter is over and no further action will be taken,” Sawyer said, according to the Times.
Officials at the Sacramento district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The timing of the arrest was striking. The day before his arrest, Choudri had appeared with Gov. Newsom in Kern County to announce the completion of a 150-acre facility that would serve as a hub for construction of the high-speed rail project in San Joaquin Valley.
“The railhead facility is a critical step in the track-installation process and keeps us on pace to deliver this system smarter, faster and more economically,” Choudri announced at the media event, according to a statement released by Newsom’s office.
Earlier in his career, Choudri spent over a decade working on high-speed train technology and train control systems in France and Spain, giving him deeper knowledge and understanding of complex projects and train systems, according to Gov. Newsom’s office.
He worked with leading American engineering firms including Bechtel Corporation and HNTB. In the United States, he worked on construction of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Dulles Airport Metro Line in Washington D.C., and most recently, he worked on a project to develop a future connection between the Ontario Airport with the future Brightline West terminus in Rancho Cucamonga in California, according to his official biography.
This story was aggregated by AI from several news reports and edited by American Kahani’s News Desk.