PACIFIC GROVE – Past comments about Pacific Grove’s Lovers Point are drawing renewed attention after Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao was appointed acting secretary of the Navy following the resignation of Navy Secretary John Phelan.
Cao, a Navy combat veteran and former Republican Senate candidate in Virginia, made the remarks during a 2023 interview while campaigning for office. In the interview, Cao referred to Lovers Point as being in Monterey and claimed the area had become “a really dark place” with “a lot of witchcraft,” adding that “the Wiccan community has really taken over there, and that “We can’t let that happen in Virginia.”
Lovers Point is located in Pacific Grove, not Monterey. According to the Monterey County Historical Society’s website, the location was once known as “Lovers of Jesus Point” before it was known as today’s Lovers Point. Pacific Grove was founded in 1875 as a Methodist summer retreat and later developed into a residential coastal community.
Cao’s comments also linked Wicca with witchcraft, terms that are related but not identical.
Cao assumed the acting secretary role after the resignation of John Phelan, marking another leadership change for the Navy during the Trump administration. National reports said Phelan was given the option to resign or be dismissed. Cao’s past remarks have resurfaced as he steps into the temporary leadership position.
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