YouTube star Logan Paul may have dipped his toes in his fair share of controversy, but he isn’t ready to take the blame for something caused by his brother. After Scottsdale, Arizona authorities announced charges were formally pressed against Jake Paul in connection to rioting and looting that took place in the city amid George Floyd protests, one news outlet accidentally used a photo of the wrong brother in their story. In response, Paul demanded an apology.
i demand an apology @yahoo pic.twitter.com/3iBrSZvlRp
— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) June 5, 2020
His tweet immediately sparked a flurry of responses, with one person noting, “you both recorded things that you definitely should not have” and therefore “it’s a pretty easy mix-up.” That comment, of course, was referencing Paul’s long history of controversial videos, including his 2018 video in which he filmed a dead body in Japan’s Aokigahara Forest, better known as the Suicide Forest. Paul, however, was not the one to land in hot water over the weekend, though, and his brother’s controversial footage is a little different than that since-removed 2018 video.
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As protesters took to the streets of Scottsdale Saturday in a demonstration against police brutality and systemic racism, Jake was seen on video recorded by his videographer Andrew Blue near a P.F. Chang’s by the Scottsdale Fashion Square mall. In other clips, the 23-year-od was seen entering the mall as others vandalized the shopping center and looted from the various stores, and the YouTuber even shared images to his Instagram Story showing police mobilizing outside of the mall and later claimed that he had been tear-gassed.
That video was shared to Twitter by New York Times reporter Taylor Lorenz and soon caught the attention of authorities, who on Thursday announced that Jake had been charged with criminal trespassing and unlawful assembly, both of which are misdemeanor charges. Authorities said they confirmed Jake’s identity among the rioters through hundreds of tips and videos sent to officials and confirmed he “was present after the protest was declared an unlawful assembly and the rioters were ordered to leave the area by police.”
Despite the charges against him, Jake seems to be taking things in stride. Responding to Thursday’s development, Jake said in a tweet, “gimme my charges and let’s put the focus back on George Floyd and Black Lives Matter.”