Dozens of FBI agents and SWAT officers have raided the sprawling California mansion of controversial YouTube star Jake Paul, seizing several weapons amid an investigation into looting and vandalism at an Arizona shopping mall.
“The FBI is investigating allegations of criminal acts surrounding the incident at Scottsdale Fashion Square in May 2020,” the bureau said in a statement on Wednesday.
A SWAT team seized numerous firearms from YouTube star Jake Paul’s Calabasas home today – including semiautomatic rifles and shotguns – after the FBI issued a search warrant as part of an investigation. pic.twitter.com/Mg2qJcEqEK
The agency noted that a separate search warrant was also executed in Las Vegas, but said no arrests had been made. The YouTuber was not present at the time of the search.
The raid on Paul’s Calabasas residence was captured in photos and videos that circulated on social media. The officers were seen carrying a number of rifles out of the mansion.
The FBI has raided the Calabasas mansion of YouTuber Jake Paul. The raid is in connection to Paul’s involvement in a looting at an Arizona mall. Multiple firearms were removed from the residence.No arrests are currently planned. pic.twitter.com/se4AVgqSHl
Paul was charged in June with criminal trespass and unlawful assembly after appearing in a video at a mall in Scottsdale, Arizona, near Phoenix, where protesters were seen vandalizing and looting stores. While police in Scottsdale have clarified that those charges have since been dropped, they said a federal probe is ongoing.
“It has been decided that in the cases charging Jake Paul, Arman Izadi and Andrew Leon, it is in the best interest of the community to dismiss misdemeanor charges without prejudice so that a federal criminal investigation can be completed,” the police said in a statement on Wednesday, referring to two others who had been charged alongside Paul.
I was one of the few who pointed out that when Jake Paul went to a mall while it was being looted he did so comfortably making videos because he was accompanied with men holding rifles. Today #JakePaul is trending because the feds raided his home are confiscated weapons. https://t.co/JIv931Ldy3
The YouTuber maintains he did not take part in any theft or destruction of property, however, insisting he was merely there to document the demonstration-turned-riot, which came soon after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Paul’s attorney has acknowledged Wednesday’s raid, saying his client intended to cooperate with the investigation and that his legal team is “still gathering information” on the incident.
Like this story? Share it with a friend!
