- An "incel" YouTuber pleaded guilty to making a
bomb threat inManhattan . - Authorities say Malik Sanchez, 19, made the bomb hoax while filming a
YouTube video in February.
A YouTuber who self-identifies as an "incel" has pleaded guilty to making a bomb threat in Manhattan, the Department of Justice said in a Friday press release.
Malik Sanchez pleaded guilty to one count of conveying false information and hoaxes in a Manhattan
The 19-year-old makes YouTube videos under the handle "Smooth Sanchez," where he has 6,000 subscribers, according to the release.
According to the Department of Justice, Sanchez falsely said he had a bomb while filming a YouTube video uploaded in February that showed him speaking to people at an outdoor restaurant space in the Flatiron neighborhood of Manhattan. The YouTube video led to Sanchez's charge and arrest on April 14, according to a Department of Justice press release from the time.
Although the video is no longer available to view on Sanchez's "Smooth Sanchez" channel, other YouTubers have reuploaded the footage from that video.
"Let's enhance their meal," Sanchez can be heard saying while approaching a table at the restaurant and yelling "Allahu Akbar" — an Islamic declaration of faith that means "God is greatest" — and "bomb detonation in two, in two minutes." This clip appears to be the same video that led to the charge, as the words he says in the video match the transcription of the bomb threat provided by the Department of Justice in its press release.
In other videos on his YouTube channel, Sanchez said he identified as an "incel," according to the court press release.
The term "incel," which is shorthand for "involuntarily celibate," refers to an online community of men who say they're living sexless lives against their wishes. These men "believe that society unjustly denies them sexual or romantic attention to which they are entitled," the court press release states, and "target those who they believe are unjustly denying them sexual or romantic attention." Incels often blame women for their sexual inactivity.
In 2017, Reddit banned "r/Incel," a forum on the website where tens of thousands of
A 59-second rap video with over 5,000 views called "SMOOTH SANCHEZ 'INCEL ARMY' FREESTYLE," in which Sanchez rapped about going viral and "sipping hater tears," was still available as of Tuesday afternoon, when the video also autoplayed an advertisement before it began.
"The incel army's in your town," he said at one point in the song.
Sanchez also posted at least two videos where he said he supported Elliot Rodger, according to the Department of Justice's Friday press release, whom authorities said killed 6 people and injured 14 more in 2014 near the University of California, Santa Barbara, after he posted a YouTube video called "Elliot Rodger's Retribution." Rodgers reportedly said in the video that he wanted to punish women for spurning his advances. The mass shooting was described as "male supremacist terrorism" by the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism at The Hague.
Videos referencing Rodger were not available to view on Sanchez's channel as of Tuesday afternoon. The most recent video on the channel was uploaded on April 13, a day before Sanchez was arrested.
A YouTube spokesperson told Insider the platform previously removed three videos from Sanchez's channel, two for violating the website's harassment policy and one for violating the medical misinformation policy. The spokesperson did not specify which of Sanchez's videos were removed.
Sanchez is set to receive a sentence related to the charge from United States District Judge Colleen McMahon on February 8, 2022. The maximum sentence for the charge is five years in prison, according to the release.
Sanchez's attorney declined to comment.