Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.
Maine Man Arrested After Driving to California to Threaten Google About Shutting Down His YouTube Channel
March 13, 2019
A YouTube video channel operator from Waterville, Maine, was arrested after driving to Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., to complain about his channel being shut down.
Kyle Long, 33, was arrested by authorities on Hwy 101 outside Google headquarters for making criminal threats and held in a local jail on $25,000 bail.
Long’s odyssey began after he believed Google had shut down his YouTube channel, which reportedly offered video instructions how to monetize the platform.
Long apparently thought Google had taken down his videos, when in reality it was his wife who dismantled the channel, claiming the videos were nonsense, according to NBC News.
“His wife took it down as soon as he put it up,” Long’s father told NBC, adding that the videos didn’t make any sense to him either.
“It was dumb; it was crazy,” the father said. “He showed it to me and it was most bizarre thing. It wasn’t reality.”
The situation turned serious after Long engaged in an awkward conversation about losing money on YouTube with a state trooper at a gas station bathroom in Iowa. That chat prompted the trooper to contact authorities in Maine.
Local police there also reportedly learned that Long had threatened “physical” violence if his interaction with Google didn’t go well. That prompted a call to Mountain View police.