The Mountain View Police Department on Sunday (March 10) intercepted and arrested a 33-year-old Maine man believed to be en route to Google and intending violence after his YouTube channel was shut down.
Kyle Long of Waterville, Maine, is charged with making criminal threats and was being held at the Santa Clara County Jail Monday on $25,000 bail.
The Iowa State Patrol tipped off local law enforcement about Long on Friday after his involvement in a non-injury collision and the vandalism of a gas station store restroom in that state, according to a MVPD press release. Employees of the gas station declined to press charges and the vehicle accident did not warrant detaining Long, so even though he allegedly told state troopers about his eyebrow-raising intentions to confront Google – parent company of YouTube – about his channel, he was allowed to proceed on his journey.
On Sunday, Waterville officials notified the MVPD that Long had stated, “if his meeting with Google personnel did not go well, he was going to resort to physical violence,” according to the release.
Local officers found three baseball bats in Long’s vehicle when they stopped him at approximately 1 p.m. Sunday near Highway 101 and Moffett Boulevard, according to the release.
The incident evoked memories of last year’s shootings at YouTube’s San Bruno campus. Suspect Nasim Aghdam, 38, of Menifee fatally shot herself April 3 after allegedly injuring three people at YouTube hours before. Aghdam was said to be upset about changes YouTube made to her vegan-themed videos.
