Maine man arrested after threatening Google for shutting down YouTube page
MOUNTAIN VIEW (BCN) A Maine man was arrested in Mountain View Sunday after allegedly threatening Google and driving across the country to confront the company, police reported.
The Iowa State Patrol informed police Friday that 33-year-old Kyle Long was on his way to Mountain View to meet with Google after his YouTube channel was shut down. YouTube is owned by Google, and Long claimed he was losing money due to the penalty.
Officers in Iowa had made contact with Long on Friday after he was involved in a non-injury collision, and a second time when he allegedly vandalized a gas station. He was not detained because the gas station did not want to pursue charges, state troopers in Iowa told police.
State troopers told police Sunday that Long was in California and intended to commit physical violence if his meeting with Google personnel was not satisfactory.
Police set up protection around the Googleplex and monitored all major highways around Mountain View to intercept Long before he arrived at the campus.
They also notified nearby jurisdictions with satellite Google offices, including the YouTube office in San Bruno. A San Diego County woman shot two people at the location in April 2018 after accusing YouTube of censoring her videos, but both victims survived the shooting.
At about 1 p.m. on Sunday, police intercepted Long's vehicle near U.S. Highway 101 and Moffett Boulevard and detained Long without incident following a high-risk traffic stop.
Police found three baseball bats in his car, and Long's phone was displaying directions to Mountain View. He was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats, and booked into the Santa Clara County jail on $25,000 bail.
"We very much appreciated all the efforts that were made across the country to do everything possible to prevent this man bringing harm to others," Chief Max Bosel said in a news release.
On Monday a visible police presence remained on Google's campus.
Eduardo Herrera works at Charlie's Café inside Googleplex.
“My first reaction was the whole thing from last year,” said Herrera. “It just brought memories from that. It's crazy. it could have happened here," Hererra said.
Kyle Long’s father Kevin told KTVU his son suffers from bipolar disorder and has full-blown manic episodes. He said his son was never the same after at age 16, Kyle spent 10 years in prison for vehicular manslaughter. He was the driver in a DUI crash that killed his friend.
Google did not respond when asked for comment. Long’s bail is set at $25,000. His first court appearance is on Wednesday.
KTVU's Azenith Smith contributed to this report.