Prolific TikToker Anthony Gagné arrested, charged with faking crimes

A social media personality known for his TikTok series ‘Trying to get the FBI at my door’ has managed to grab the attention of the police here in Canada.

Anthony Gagné, 27, was arrested this week for public mischief, accused by authorities of fabricating crimes to gain a following.

Gagné’s TikTok series has more than 440,000 followers and a combined 9.5 million views. He maintains multiple accounts on different social platforms to distribute his content and attracts more than 500,000 subscribers in total.

Police in Gatineau, Que., say they opened an investigation in May after receiving a complaint about a person driving a truck with the words “FREE CANDY” written on its side in what authorities say was an attempt to kill children. to attract.

A TikTok video on Gagné’s account shows him wearing a fake mustache, driving a U-Haul rental through neighborhoods, filming children and pedestrians, while also yelling “free candy.” A caption for the May 26 video described it as “my biggest project yet.” A longer version of the video appears on Gagné’s YouTube account.

Gatineau police claim they have discovered multiple videos with similar intent to falsify crimes that Gagné published in early 2021. Police allege that he used various online search tools to obtain information about committing crimes.

Police allege officers have identified several videos of Gagné simulating crimes in an attempt to provoke a response from various law enforcement agencies. His videos regularly feature the line “Trying to get the FBI to my door,” though it’s not clear why the US Federal Bureau of Investigation would be involved.

Gatineau police say RCMP officers tried to contact Gagné, but he continued to take the videos.

In one of the videos in Gagné’s series, he cut a piece of cardboard into the shape of a human head into what he says an attempt to trick his neighbors into believing they were being spied on.

He placed the cardboard cutout in his basement window facing the neighbor’s house, then went outside to film what it looked like from their perspective.

That TikTok video alone got over 790,000 likes and 2,000 comments.

Gagné continued his shenanigans in a two-part video where he said he spent more than four hours in a hazmat suit waiting for the city’s garbage collection services to show up on their scheduled route.

He had placed a barrel with a nuclear waste symbol to see if the garbage collectors would take the barrel. When Gagné asked about it, they replied “no, we don’t.”

Police say Gagné’s wife, who remains unnamed, also appears in his content.

Gatineau police said they had executed a search warrant at Gagné’s home on Wednesday. They said they seized three mobile phones, a tablet, a laptop, fake blood, a balaclava, a gas mask and a rental vehicle contract.

According to the Criminal Code, public mischief refers to deliberately misleading an officer into starting or prolonging an investigation.

Gatineau police spokesman Const. Patrick Kenney said in an email: “It is time people understood that actions or words spoken on social media are not without consequences.

“It’s a crime,” Kenney said, regardless of whether anyone, virtual or in person, incites police to investigate under false pretenses.

The Gatineau Police Department “will never hesitate to take legal action against individuals who engage in objectionable, threatening, hateful, or wasteful conduct that forces public safety organizations to expend unnecessary resources.”

Gagné was released following a lawsuit and must abide by several conditions, including a ban on posting content for his approximately 500,000 followers on various social media platforms.

With files from The Canadian Press

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