Gilbert mayoral candidate’s son appears in ‘Goons’ video

A Gilbert mayoral candidate says nobody was more surprised than him to see his son in a “Gilbert Goons” video.

Shane Krauser, who has made the Goons and teen violence a cornerstone of his campaign, confirmed his teenage son was recorded with members of the gang during a July 4 confrontation.

Krauser was quick to point out that nobody was assaulted in the video, which shows a group of teenagers squaring off with a couple in a Gilbert neighborhood over an apparent dispute about fireworks.

“There was no physical confrontation,” Krauser told The Arizona Republic. “This is kids being disrespectful.”

The undated video does not depict the beatings or assaults associated with the Goons, who frequently recorded their blitz-style attacks on teenagers at parks, malls, parking garages and house parties.

The one-minute TikTok video shows the teens taunting the couple as they approach. They yell at the man while the woman with him talks on a cellphone. The teens behind the camera laugh and shout, seemingly daring the man to take action even as they threaten to sue him if he does.

“We got him! We got him,” the teens shout and curse as the man faces the camera, raises his arms out to his sides and then gestures for the teens to back up.

As the encounter escalates, the woman grabs the man, pulls him back and then steps in front of him. This sets off a series of catcalls from the teens. “Man, you got manhandled, bruh,” one teen shouts. “Hell, yeah,” others respond.

The video pans around the teens, who flash various signs with their hands. One yells, “Fourth of July.” Then the camera stops on Krauser’s son, who drops to the ground and does pushups as the yelling continues. The video ends abruptly.

Several Gilbert Goons are identifiable in the July 4 video, including two arrested and charged in gang attacks in Gilbert and Pinal County.

Krauser said he learned about the video less than two months ago and immediately sat down with his son to discuss it with him the way “any parent would do.” He denied that his son, now 17, is a member of the Goons or regularly associates with them.

Social media accounts show Krauser’s son follows members of the Goons.

Krauser said his son knows many of the teens in the video from Perry High School. He said the Fourth of July video was recorded in their previous neighborhood in 2022, and the holiday drew kids from all over the area. The Goons never were in his house, Krauser said.

Krauser said just because his son shared social media pages with the