YouTube star Jake Paul, who boasts 20 million subscribers on the platform, has reportedly been charged by police in Scottsdale, Arizona, with allegedly participating in looting and riots over the weekend. The police say they received “hundreds of tips” about Paul based on videos he posted to social media.
ABC15 Arizona reports that social media influencer and popular YouTube star Jake Paul has been charged by police in Scottsdale, Arizona, for allegedly participating in looting and riots over the weekend, sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Police stated that Paul was identified as being present during looting and that they received hundreds of tips and videos sent to them by concerned citizens. Paul allegedly entered and remained inside Scottsdale Fashion Square mall when it was closed.
Videos of Paul appearing at the mall were posted across social media:
Millionaire @jakepaul was amongst the people who were looting Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall last night. He claims he was there for George Floyd, but there are videos of him & his gang smashing into stores, stealing and launching explosives at the building.pic.twitter.com/LrPFSObG4c
— Former Democrats for Trump (@YoungDems4Trump) June 1, 2020
Officials stated that Paul “was present after the protest was declared an unlawful assembly and the rioters were ordered to leave the area by police.” Paul was charged with criminal trespassing and unlawful assembly.
We've received 100s of tips in response to the events at @ScottsdaleFS. In our continued investigation it was confirmed that Jake Paul was in attendance & remained inside after an unlawful assembly was declared & has been charged with Criminal Trespass & Unlawful Assembly. pic.twitter.com/ySPmZT7ADv
— ScottsdalePD (@ScottsdalePD) June 4, 2020
On Sunday, Paul tweeted: “To be absolutely clear, neither I nor anyone in our group was engaged in any looting or vandalism.” He added that he was at the protest to film and “share our experience and bring more attention to the anger felt in every neighborhood we traveled through…”
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) May 31, 2020
In 2017, Breitbart News reported on Paul and his various YouTube antics, writing:
Jake Paul, the brother of Vine star Logan Paul, is making life in his Los Angeles neighborhood quite difficult for his neighbors. The social media star, who boasts 25 million followers across his social media accounts, has been accused of turning the street surrounding his West Hollywood house into a “war zone” by residents. Paul and the band of influencers that make up his social media group Team 10, regularly record videos and do stunts around Paul’s house. One recent stunt involved setting fire to furniture in Paul’s backyard which resulted in a two story tall inferno erupting from the social media stars pool.
KTLA reported that the social media star, who is now signed to Disney, regularly publishes his full address online leading to crowds of fans, mainly consisting of screaming young girls, to pack the street outside Paul’s home. “The neighbors hate me,” Paul told a KTLA film crew that arrived at his property. When the KTLA reporter further questions Paul about the antics surrounding his home and the neighbor’s complaints Paul replies, “Yeah, it is like that.” Paul responded to the claim that the neighborhood is now “like a circus” by saying, “But, I mean, people like going to circuses.”
In a video posted to YouTube by KTLA, Paul can be seen climbing on top of the KTLA news van, when asked not to do so by a reporter Paul simply asks, “why?”
Read more about Jake Paul at Breitbart News here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com
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