A 26-year-old man who posted a Snapchat footage of himself licking toiletries in Missouri Walmart and taunting "Who's scared of coronavirus?" has been arrested.
Cody Pfister from Warrenton, Missouri filmed himself and uploaded the video online on March 11. He was charged on Tuesday with "knowingly causing a false belief or fear that a condition involving danger to life existed" by the Warren County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
The video posted online showed a man speaking to the camera "Who's scared of the coronavirus? Don't touch your mouth" and licking a row of items on the store shelf.
According to the statement released by the City of Warrenton Police Department on Monday, "a local resident who took a video of themselves licking the merchandise after making a 'Corona Virus' statement at Walmart and posting it to social media has been taken into custody."
Court documents indicate the incident took place on March 11.
They also state that Pfister acted "with reckless disregard of the risk causing the evacuation, quarantine or closure of any portion" of Walmart.
The video was shared on Tik Tok and Twitter and gained attention abroad from people in the Netherlands, U.K., and Ireland.
That’s a crime, actually. pic.twitter.com/8gZha4t5cu — Ezra Levant (@ezralevant) March 22, 2020
The police department said that they take these complaints very seriously and thanked people who reported the video to address the issue.
The video immediately went viral with him licking a row of deodorants for sale.
The man is now in custody for making a terrorist threat.
Warrenton police said they had received complaints from across the globe including the U.K., the Netherlands, and Ireland.
Pfister has been previously charged for theft and burglary. He had admitted to committing the crimes in Montgomery County.
The police department said charges will be pending through the Warren County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. They have received several reports about the video from locals and nearby residents as well.
A docket hearing is slated for Wednesday, while a message left for his attorney was not immediately returned on Tuesday.
Four fatalities have been recorded in Missouri due to the coronavirus.
No additional information has been released aside from Pfister making a terrorist threat.
Interest in the incident was piqued after British television personality Piers Morgan shared the footage. Morgan, earlier this week, requested Pfister to be locked up and denied healthcare if he becomes infected with the coronavirus.
Local authorities took 26-year-old on Monday into custody and have been charged with terrorist threat in the second degree.
Pfister is the latest to get into worrying trouble with the law among younger generations mocking the killer virus on social media platforms.
Making a terrorist threat in the second degree in Missouri means ignorance of the possibility of "causing the evacuation, quarantine or closure of any portion of a building." It is a class E felony that can be met with a prison sentence of up to four years and a fine.
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