YouTubers charged over call to 911, confrontation
First Amendment ‘audit’ recorded
For years, YouTuber Floyd Wallace Jr. of Omaha, Nebraska, has been traveling across the Midwest recording run-ins with police.
He and others like him describe themselves as First Amendment auditors or activWallace ists.
“Remember, I am fighting for your freedoms,” Wallace says in one video.
Now, he and two other YouTubers face a misdemeanor charge accusing them of falsely reporting a crime to instigate a confrontation with Oklahoma City police April 29.
The 911 caller reported a guy was hiding in the bushes “Ninja-style” outside the Carver Correctional Center, according to a recording released by police.
“I don’t know what he’s doing. He might be trying to plant some dope on the facility,” the caller said.
Charged were Wallace, 25, Timothy Harper, 53, of McLoud, and Patrick Roth, 23, of Conroe, Texas.
They face one misdemeanor count of falsely reporting a crime and one misdemeanor count of conspiracy.
Police posted body-worn camera video of the April 29 run-in after one officer warned Wallace twice to back off, then pushed him to the sidewalk and handcuffed him.
“A recent use of force incident has been getting significant community response and comments on social media regarding what took place,” police said. “It is imperative that we maintain transparency about what happened so we are releasing the 911 call and the officerworn body camera video showing the use of force incident.”
On the video, Wallace complained after being put in handcuffs that police were violating his rights.
“I asked you for your name and badge. I didn’t touch you,” Wallace said.
“No, you pulled your fist up at me. You approached me. You were going to attack,” the officer said.
“No, I wasn’t,” Wallace said. “I wasn’t a threat.”
Auditors record confrontations
Before the pandemic, First Amendment auditors had become more commonplace at government facilities. Some had thousands of subscribers on YouTube and the most popular even made money from their videos.
As restrictions ease in many parts of the country, auditors are becoming active again, even as a national reckoning continues over issues of race and the role of police in society.
Before the incident in Oklahoma City on April 29, the 911 caller specifically described the “hiding” male as Black, a police detective reported in a court affidavit.
The detective identified the caller as Harper.
“As a member of the Criminal Intelligence Unit, I have had personal contact with Timothy Harper, a known 1st and 2nd Amendment auditor, on multiple occasions and know Harper’s voice well,” the detective, Thomas VanNort, wrote in a court affidavit.
“Mr. Harper describes himself as being ‘across the street … where the truck fleet thing is’ and claims to be working there, ‘where we sell stuff,’ but is clearly struggling to explain where he is, despite claiming he works there,” the detective wrote.
“When the 911 call taker asked for Harper’s name, it took Harper several seconds to say his name was ‘Duncan Johnson,’ concealing his true identity.”
Harper called from Roth’s phone number, the detective said.
Suspect has history of recording interactions with police
The charge was filed Thursday in Oklahoma County District Court
Wallace could not be reached for comment, and Harper did not return calls for comment.
Roth said Friday, “I don’t believe it’s fair because I didn’t call anybody. People have been giving me hell online for something Tim did. … I didn’t know he was even doing that.
“This is a cover-up technique,” he also said. “They’re charging us and trying to make us look bad because of what the officer did. … They don’t want that to be talked about.”
Police believe Wallace recorded the interaction from a camera device built into his eyeglasses. They reported Harper and Roth both had their phones out and “looked like they were recording the event.”
Harper became well-known to police before the pandemic for conducting what he called Second Amendment audits.
He regularly livestreamed himself carrying a rifle or AR-15 pistol in public places and being confronted by police. A video of his run-in with officers at Edmond’s Hafer Park was viewed more than a million times.
He called what he was doing “audits” to educate the police on gun laws and to make the public more comfortable with seeing lawfully armed citizens
He was charged with a felony, though, after he took his rifle into Twin Peaks on Nov. 2, 2019. Last year, District Attorney David Prater dropped the criminal charge “in the best interests of justice.”