YouTuber Jake Paul among at least 20 charged after riots in Arizona mall, cops say
Popular YouTube celebrity Jake Paul was charged Thursday after an alleged rioting incident at an Arizona mall, according to Scottsdale police.
Paul, who has more than 20 million subscribers on YouTube, was charged with criminal trespassing and unlawful assembly — both misdemeanors, Scottsdale police announced Thursday morning.
The incident occurred May 30 inside Fashion Square mall and has led to at least 20 arrests, police said Wednesday. More than $46,000 of property was recovered, according to police.
Police say Paul “was present after the protest was declared an unlawful assembly and the rioters were ordered to leave the area by police,” according to KNXV. Hundreds of tips were received, police said.
Paul denied he was involved in looting or vandalism.
“We spent the day doing our part to peacefully protest one of the most horrific injustices our country has ever seen, which led to us being tear-gassed for filming the events and brutality that were unfolding in Arizona,” he stated Sunday. “We were gassed and forced to keep moving on foot. We filmed everything we saw in an effort to share our experience and bring more attention to the anger felt in every neighborhood we traveled through; we were strictly documenting, not engaging. I do not condone violence, looting or breaking the law.”
Videos posted to social media show people surrounding Paul destroying some property inside the mall.
His older brother, fellow influencer Logan Paul, said the incident was hard for him to understand.
“Why was he inside of a mall that was being looted, I have no idea,” Logan Paul said on a podcast episode, according to Us Magazine. “I talked to him on the phone, he was at dinner that was next to the mall. It was very unfortunate but very on-brand for Jake Paul to magically be seen at a looting site.”
The younger Paul has been summoned to appear in court in July, according to NBC News.
He states on his YouTube account that he and his squad “are always making comedy vids, acting, doing action sports, & going on crazy adventures.”
This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 12:35 PM with the headline "YouTuber Jake Paul among at least 20 charged after riots in Arizona mall, cops say."