YouTuber Jake Paul has been charged by police in Arizona after smartphone footage allegedly showed the guy waltzing through a shopping centre while it was being looted.
He faces misdemeanour charges of criminal trespass and unlawful assembly, NBC News reports.
Paul, who has more followers on social media than is worth mentioning here, was allegedly caught on camera while filming the scene at Scottsdale Fashion Square on May 30.
Bystander footage appears to show a small crew roaming near rioters, who took advantage of peaceful demonstrations in protest of George Floyd‘s death to ransack the shops.
In a statement obtained by NBC News, Scottsdale Police Department said their investigation revealed Paul was present after receiving “hundreds of tips and videos” from the scene.
The department said Paul was in the shopping centre “after the protest was declared an unlawful assembly and the rioters were ordered to leave the area by the police.”
Taking to Twitter this morning, Paul said he wanted the focus to return to Floyd and the broader protest movement.
gimme my charges and let’s put the focus back on George Floyd and Black Lives Matter https://t.co/nwBZmsxFFz
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) June 4, 2020
Earlier, Paul denied actively taking part in any looting or vandalism, instead saying he and his team “filmed everything we saw in an effort to share our experience and bring more attention to the anger felt in every neighbourhood we traveled through.”
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) May 31, 2020
He’s set to face court in July.
