{"id":2572299,"date":"2026-02-21T19:29:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T00:29:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hours-after-publicly-appearing-with-newsom-ca-high-speed-rail-chief-arrested-on-suspicion-of-spousal-battery\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T19:30:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T00:30:24","slug":"hours-after-publicly-appearing-with-newsom-ca-high-speed-rail-chief-arrested-on-suspicion-of-spousal-battery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hours-after-publicly-appearing-with-newsom-ca-high-speed-rail-chief-arrested-on-suspicion-of-spousal-battery\/","title":{"rendered":"Hours After Publicly Appearing With Newsom, CA High Speed Rail Chief Arrested on Suspicion of Spousal Battery"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhours-after-publicly-appearing-with-newsom-ca-high-speed-rail-chief-arrested-on-suspicion-of-spousal-battery%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2572299&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Ian Choudri, the CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, was arrested at his Folsom home on suspicion of domestic battery, along with his fianc\u00e9e Lyudmyla Starostyuk. Authorities say the incident involved a confrontation with choudri\u2019s 17-year-old daughter, with Starostyuk accused of pulling hair, pushing her, and locking her out of the house; prosecutors did not file charges. The High-Speed Rail Authority said it is aware of the matter and reviewing it.The arrest followed a public appearance with Gov. Gavin Newsom in Kern County, where the couple announced the completion of a 150-acre facility to support rail construction. Choudri, one of California\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/illinois-has-among-highest-paid-state-employees\/\" title=\"Illinois has among highest-paid state employees\">highest-paid state employees<\/a>, earned about $563,000 last year and was appointed CEO in August 2024, after more than 30 years in transportation. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-trump-religious-groups-begin-turning-up-heat-on-gop-to-take-action-on-marjorie-taylor-greene\/\" title=\"Pro-Trump, Religious Groups Begin Turning Up Heat On GOP To Take Action On Marjorie Taylor Greene\">high-speed rail project<\/a> has been in development since 2008, but only about 80 miles of guideway and 58 structures are complete; the plan envisions nearly 500 miles of track from San Francisco to Los Angeles, with travel time reduced to around 2 hours and 40 minutes.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Ian Choudri, the CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, was arrested at his Folsom home earlier this month on suspicion of domestic battery, officials said Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities took Choudri, 57, and his fianc&eacute;e Lyudmyla Starostyuk, 46, into custody just after midnight Feb. 4 on suspicion of battery against a spouse, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-02-16\/high-speed-rail-ceo-arrested-on-suspicion-of-domestic-violence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according<\/a> to the L.A. Times. The arrest happened just hours after an appearance beside California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom at a rail event in Kern County, where the pair announced the completion of a 150-acre facility that will serve as a hub for construction on the rail project.<\/p>\n<p>Choudri was arrested after an alleged fight between Starostyuk and Choudri&rsquo;s 17-year-old daughter, where officers claim Starostyuk &ldquo;pulled her hair and pushed her&rdquo; before locking her out of the house, according to police recordings <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sacbee.com\/news\/politics-government\/capitol-alert\/article314724555.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reviewed<\/a>&nbsp;by the Sacramento Bee.<\/p>\n<p>Police were called to the home by a third party and the Sacramento County District Attorney&rsquo;s Office did not file charges in the case.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The High-Speed Rail Authority is aware of the matter and is reviewing it,&rdquo; a representative for the agency <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sacbee.com\/news\/politics-government\/capitol-alert\/article314724555.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20High%2DSpeed%20Rail%20Authority%20is%20aware%20of%20the%20matter%20and%20is%20reviewing%20it%2C%E2%80%9D%20a%20spokesperson%20for%20the%20agency%20said%20in%20a%20statement%20Monday%20night.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a> in a statement to the outlet Monday night.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Choudri, one of the highest-paid state employees in California <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-02-16\/high-speed-rail-ceo-arrested-on-suspicion-of-domestic-violence#:~:text=Choudri%20is%20among%20the%20highest%2Dpaid%20state%20employees%20in%20California%2C%20having%20earned%20%24563%2C000%20last%20year%2C%20according%20to%20payroll%20records%20obtained%20by%20The%20Times%20from%20the%20state%20controller%E2%80%99s%20office.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">earning<\/a> $563,000 last year, was approved as CEO of the agency in August 2024. He has over 30 years of experience in the transportation sector and previously served as the senior vice president of HNTB Corp., an infrastructure design firm.<\/p>\n<p>The heavily scrutinized high-speed rail project has been ongoing since 2008, when voters approved the ballot measure greenlighting the project. After 18 years of work, only 80 miles of guideway and 58 structures have been fully completed. The rail is <a href=\"https:\/\/hsr.ca.gov\/project-overview\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">designed<\/a> to stretch nearly 500 miles and reduce travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles &mdash; a distance of almost 400 miles &mdash; to two hours and 40 minutes.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p><em>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >legitimate news publisher<\/a> that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter&rsquo;s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri was arrested at his Folsom home earlier this month on suspicion of domestic battery against a spouse. The 57-year-old was taken into custody, along with his fianc\u00e9e Lyudmyla Starostyuk, 46, shortly after midnight on February 4. The arrest followed an alleged incident involving Choudri\u2019s 17-year-old daughter, during which police say Starostyuk pulled her hair, pushed her, and locked her out of the house, according to recordings reviewed by the Sacramento Bee. The Sacramento County District Attorney\u2019s Office did not file charges, and the High-Speed Rail Authority said it is reviewing the matter.<\/p>\n<p>The couple had appeared with California Governor Gavin Newsom earlier that day at a Kern County rail event announcing completion of a 150-acre facility intended to support rail construction.<\/p>\n<p>Choudri, one of the state\u2019s highest-paid employees at $563,000 last year, was approved as CEO in August 2024. He has more than 30 years in transportation and previously served as senior vice president at HNTB Corp., an infrastructure design firm. The high-speed rail project has been in development since 2008, and to date only about 80 miles of guideway and 58 structures have been completed. The plan envisions nearly 500 miles of track, with San Francisco\u2013to\u2013Los Angeles travel expected to take about 2 hours and 40 minutes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2572300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-18T005219.395.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4045,74287,3678],"class_list":["post-2572299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-california","tag-high-speed-rail-2","tag-newsom"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-18T005219.395.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2572299"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2572303,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572299\/revisions\/2572303"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2572300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2572299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2572299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2572299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}