Walmart Licker Arrest

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Overview

Walmart Licker Arrest refers to the detainment of a man who taped himself licking numerous items in Walmart in apparent defiance of the Coronavirus and posted the footage to TikTok. The man was identified as Cody Pfister of Warrenton, Missouri. He was charged with a "low-level terrorist threat" and was held without bail. He is not to be confused with the people who contaminated various products as part of the Ice Cream Challenge.

Background

In March of 2020, Cody Pfister posted a video to social media in which he licked several items in a Walmart, prefacing his act with the words, "Who's afraid of Coronavirus?" It appears it was first posted to TikTok,^[1] and that the footage was taken on March 11th.^[2] Though the video was deleted, it was shared widely on Twitter. User @WeAreAPW posted the video there, where it gained over 4.4 million views (shown below).

Developments

The video was widely condemned by social media users, including Piers Morgan,^[2] who wrote, "Find him, arrest him, imprison him, & deny him any healthcare if he gets the virus. See how funny the disgusting little pr*ck finds it when his chest is collapsing & he can’t breathe."

The viral video led to international complaints to the Warrenton, Missouri police after Pfister was identified by social media users. On March 23rd, the department's Facebook page^[3] announced that the man had been taken into custody. The following day, he was charged with a low-level terrorist threat.^[4] He had had previous convictions for burglary, theft of a firearm, drug possession and driving while intoxicated, and will be held without bail.

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