On Wednesday morning, FBI agents served a federal search warrant at the home of YouTube star Jake Paul, searching his California mansion for an undisclosed reason. The news is the latest in a series of controversies involving the provocative social media personality – but will they cost him his followers?
Reports of the search of Paul’s home were first made by TMZ, including photos of FBI agents surrounding the social media star's home in Calabasas, California. Local news station ABC 7 also filmed overhead video of the search, including footage of what appears to be agents removing multiple firearms from the estate. The search was confirmed to ABC 7 by a representative of the Los Angeles division of the FBI.
The search warrant of Paul’s mansion was purportedly issued in conjunction with an open investigation, pursuant to a sealed warrant affidavit. Consequently, the FBI is prohibited from commenting on its contents or the ongoing investigation that prompted the warrant. Paul was not at home at the time of the search, and has yet to comment publicly on the incident.
MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 28: Jake Paul onstage before the Demetrius Andrade vs Luke Keeler Press ... [+]
Paul, who has over 20 million subscribers to his YouTube channel, has been in the news throughout the early months of the pandemic — and not for good reasons. In May, Paul was filmed amidst looters at a shopping mall in Scottsdale, Arizona in the wake of the protests that followed the death of George Floyd. Paul, who denied any wrongdoing, was charged with trespassing by local authorities. More recently, Paul has been criticized for hosting a large party at his Calabasas mansion in July that seemingly ignored local and state social distancing guidelines.
It is unclear what exactly prompted the search of Paul’s home on Wednesday morning and whether any of his prior run-ins with law authorities had any relationship to the investigation. But the fact that Paul has drawn the attention of the FBI certainly raises eyebrows about the newest developments related to the social media star.
As mediums such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram continue to grow in popularity, many social media “influencers” continue to search for the newest ways to create attention for themselves and attraction for their followers. The motivation to do so is enormous — as the pandemic deepens, some of the advertising budgets that social media influencers rely on is shrinking. As more influencers on more platforms split smaller budgets, and as the barriers to entry for new influencers remains low, media stars like Paul are under even more pressure to remain edgy and relevant.
It is unclear whether the most recent news will impact Paul’s following, in fact it might be one more bump in attention for the consummate social media attention-seeker. Nonetheless, despite Paul’s never-ending pursuit of subscribers, he may have found himself with the kind of follower it’s best to avoid…
Federal investigators.
