A famous YouTuber has been arrested and charged with trespassing after he was filmed during mall looting in Arizona.
23-year-old Jake Paul was charged with unlawful assembly and criminal trespass – both misdemeanors. Police said they received ‘hundreds of tips’ claiming the popular YouTuber was ‘a participant in the riot.’
“Following the riots and looting that occurred on the evening of May 30th 2020 at Scottsdale Fashion Square mall, the Scottsdale Police Department received hundreds of tips and videos identifying social media influencer, Jake Joseph Paul (23), as a participant in the riot,” police said in a statement.
“Our investigation has revealed that Paul was present after the protest was declared an unlawful assembly and the rioters were ordered to leave the area by the police.”
The statement added: “Paul also unlawfully entered and remained inside of the mall when it was closed. As a result, Paul has been charged with Criminal Trespass and Unlawful Assembly (both misdemeanor charges).
“He was issued a summons to appear in court in a month.”
The 23-year-old later responded to the charges on social media. He took to Twitter and wrote: “Gimme my charges and let’s put the focus back on George Floyd and Black Lives Matter.”
Paul said that he tried to move away from the situation and wasn’t involved in any vandalism or looting. “To be absolutely clear, neither I nor anyone in our group was engaged in any looting or vandalism,” he wrote.
“For context, we spent the day doing our part to peacefully protest one of the most horrific injustices our country has ever seen, which led us to being tear-gassed for filming the events and brutality that were unfolding in Arizona.”
Paul added: “Just for clarity, I am a videographer and my job is to document virtually everything. We were strictly documenting the situation and doing our part to use our platform to raise awareness about the horrific event and overall injustice.
“Nobody with us was looting or vandalizing, bit it certainly was tragic to see and while we understand the frustration, we don’t condone or support any behavior like that.”
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