An Arlington woman was cited for disorderly conduct after a TikTok stunt in which she pretended to have been kidnapped while dining in Pennsylvania.
Phelecia Nettles, 41, passed a note to a server in a Perkins restaurant, stating that she had been kidnapped and asking him to call 9-1-1.
Pennsylvania State Troopers and Buffalo Valley Regional Police responded to a call made by the server communicating that Nettles was the apparent victim of an abduction.
Nettles allegedly told police that she “meant everything as a joke and didn’t expect anyone to take her seriously,” ultimately confessing that she planned to capture a reaction from the server and post a video of the response to TikTok.
Arlington Police Media Relations Coordinator Tim Ciesco said that he was unaware of similar incidents in the city, “But, yes, knowingly making a false report is a crime, and you can be arrested and face jail time for doing it.”
If Nettles had pulled that prank in Texas, she could have been charged with a misdemeanor for making a false report to induce an emergency.
Since the app has increased in popularity, TikTok trends have caused national mayhem.
A 2021 challenge involved randomly kicking the doors of residences.
The videos, mainly exhibiting participation among young adults, showed people brazenly kicking the doors of homes to the song “Die Young” by American singer Ke$ha.
Jennifer Pritchard of the Petaluma Police Department in California warned of the potentially fatal consequences of prevalent TikTok challenges.
Pritchard advised via Fox News that unsuspecting homeowners could perceive the prank as a “real-life or death situation” such as a home invasion.
“When people think their home or their family is threatened, they are going to give an equal response to protect their property or family,” Pritchard counseled the public.
