YouTube megastarJake Paul , 23, was charged with criminal trespassing and unlawful assembly after being spotted at a shopping mall in Scottsdale, Arizona where looting and vandalism took place on Saturday night.- Paul later claimed that he did not participate in any looting, vandalism, or property destruction. Rather, he ended up outside the mall while trying to attend and document a protest nearby.
- But, on Thursday, Scottsdale police charged Paul with alleged criminal trespassing and unlawful assembly, per ABC15 Arizona.
- Now, Paul's longtime friend and collaborator
Arman Izadi , 35, is sticking up for the controversial YouTube megastar, saying: "If running from the cops shooting tear gas at us with no orders is a crime then #ChargeMeToo."
Arman Izadi — DJ, former
"If running from the cops shooting tear gas at us with no orders is a crime then #ChargeMeToo," Izadi captioned an Instagram post, in which he holds a sign emblazoned with the slogan "charge me too."
Only an hour before posting the photo on Instagram, Izadi tweeted, "So they want to charge @jakepaul for being in the wrong place at the wrong time?" He continued, "Interesting... Unlawful assembly is a super stretch seeing as how there was no order to disperse only a gas can in our direction after walking out of a restaurant to see what was going on."
—Arman Izadi (@IZADI) June 4, 2020
Last weekend, Paul came under fire after photos and videos of the controversial YouTuber standing outside a looted P.F. Chang's began to circulate online. In the most talked-about clip from the night, which was filmed by Paul's videographer, Andrew Blue, on Instagram, a person is seen coming out of the restaurant's broken door with a bottle of Ketel One vodka, which is then handed to Paul.
Both Paul and Blue shared clips that placed them in and around the mall that night. None of the clips depicted Paul or another member of the group he was with engaging in any obvious criminal activity, but that didn't stop his followers from swiftly condemning him — again. Many wondered why Paul, who is worth an estimated $11.5 million, would need a free bottle of vodka.
—PescatoreNews Network #PNN (@JoshPescatore) May 31, 2020
Blue subsequently deleted all trace of the night's events from his feeds amid the online backlash, but not soon enough. Scottsdale police told The Verge they received "hundreds" of tips and videos identifying Paul as a participant in Saturday's protest, leading them to make the charges against Paul. In a tweet, Paul addressed the charges on Thursday afternoon. "gimme my charges and let's put the focus back on George Floyd and Black Lives Matter," he wrote.
According to reports from ABC 15 Arizona, chaos broke out at the Scottsdale Fashion Square on Saturday when people "began damaging businesses and restaurants, including an Apple Store and P.F. Chang's." In a vlog and Notes app statement shared via Twitter, Paul offered the following clarification regarding his involvement in the demonstration that night.
"To be absolutely clear, neither I nor anyone in our group was involved in any looting or vandalism," Paul wrote. "For context, we spent the day doing our part to peacefully protest one of the most horrific injustices our country has ever seen, which led us to being tear-gassed for filming the events and brutality that were unfolding in Arizona," he added.
In addition to being known as the man who presided over Jake Paul and Tana Mongeau's wedding ceremony, Izadi is known for his own share of controversies. In fact, he's been convicted of battery and "pandering."
Izadi was first arrested in 2012 on a battery charge, after physically assaulting a film crew member he hired for a music video shoot. Izadi pleaded guilty to attempted battery with substantial bodily harm and was ordered to pay $30,000 in a related civil suit.
In 2013, Izadi was arrested on 20 counts of battery, kidnapping, pandering (the legal term for pimping), and robbery. According to case details relayed to the Las Vegas Review-Journal by local law enforcement at the time, "Izadi lured women to his prostitution ring with promises of immense wealth, his companionship, and most of all, his protection." Police added that Izadi "earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from sex workers trolling high-priced Las Vegas nightclubs" and "used charm to attract women to his business and intimidation to keep them, viciously beating them if they tried to leave." Eventually, Izadi only pleaded guilty to the pandering charge in the case.