Facepalm: In what looks like a case of cosmic karma, a man who tweeted of video of himself licking products at a Walmart and saying, “Who’s scared of the coronavirus” has been arrested for “making a terrorist threat.”
The Missouri man, identified as Cody Lee Pfister, 26, of Warrenton, is seen running his tongue along a row of personal hygiene products in the clip. A caption reads, “I’m a nasty moths f****er,” and Pfister says, “Who’s scared of the coronavirus? Don’t touch your mouth,” before his act.
BREAKING:
— Graham Allen (@GrahamAllen_1) March 22, 2020
When it comes to our future with COVID19....we are DOOMED!
RT! #COVIDIOTS #coronavirus #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/ubE3l4I4Gs
Warrenton Police Department said it had taken Pfister into custody after receiving complaints about the video from "locals, nearby residents, as well as people from the Netherlands Ireland, and the United Kingdom."
"We take these complaints very seriously and would like to thank all of those who reported the video so the issue could be addressed," police said in a statement.
Warren County prosecutors have charged Pfister with making a terrorist threat in the second degree—a low-level felony. Court documents state he “knowingly caused a false belief or fear that a condition involving danger to life existed,” adding that he acted with “reckless disregard of the risk causing the evacuation, quarantine or closure of any portion.”
According to the Riverfront Times, Pfister “has previous convictions for burglary, theft of a firearm, drug possession and driving while intoxicated.”
Police told the New York Post that the items Pfister licked were identified and thrown away.
This isn’t the first instance of police being called for someone licking a surface. A Wisconsin grocery store manager notified authorities after a woman licked a freezer’s door handle, reportedly as a protest against the virus, while the manager was disinfecting the store. Elsewhere, a man was arrested in Belgium for licking his fingers and wiping them up and down a train handrail.
Earlier this month, a TikTok star licked a plane toilet seat for an alleged “coronavirus challenge.”
