Fugitive found in Wales cannot receive fair trial in US, court told

An FBI fugitive found living in north Wales after 21 years on the run cannot receive a fair trial in the US due to possible interference by the Donald Trump administration, an extradition hearing has been told.

Daniel Andreas San Diego, 47, faces decades in prison after being accused of planting three nail bombs across California in 2003, after which he vanished.

In November 2024, he was discovered living under a false identity in the village of Maenan in the Conwy Valley.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that possible political interference in his case, in the form of a social media post by the US president, could influence the behaviour of prosecuting attorneys, juries and even judges.

Mr San Diego, who was born in Berkeley, California, became a prime suspect in the bombings after being fleeing traffic police close to where one of the devices exploded.

At an earlier hearing, the court was told that his fingerprints were found among some bomb-making equipment in the car he abandoned.

An extremist animal rights group claimed responsibility for the incidents at the Chiron biotechnology corporation in Emeryville and the Shaklee nutritional products corporation in Pleasanton.

New York-based criminal defence lawyer Joshua Dratel told the court on Monday that Mr San Diego’s case “falls into the category of activism”.

“The allegations against him are of the type which the president and attorney general, along with others in the Trump administration, have been focused on eliminating,” he added.

But Joel Smith KC, arguing the case for extradition on behalf of the US government, dismissed the claims by pointing out that the original indictment was issued when Joe Biden was in power.

He also got Mr Dratel to agree there had been no interest shown in the case by President Trump on any online platform.

Senior District Judge Paul Goldspring is expected to hear closing submissions on 23 December and a decision as to whether Mr San Diego can be extradited is expected in early 2026.