A popular YouTuber might be having too much fun with his Elon Musk-created flamethrower, and police have paid him a visit and want to take it from him.
According to YouTube star theSyndicateProject—aka Tom Cassell—Manchester, England, police want to talk to him about the Not-A-Flamethrower he purchased from Musk’s Boring Company, because, as Kotaku notes, it violates local firearm laws.
Cassell, the gaming vlogger who boasts 9.9 million YouTube subscribers and 2.6 million Twitch followers was apparently out of town when three police officers rang his doorbell. He then tweeted a photo showing police at his front door.
https://twitter.com/ProSyndicate/status/1027989437215637504
“We’ve had reports you’ve incinerated a man on your driveway” 😆
— Tom (@Syndicate) August 10, 2018
Well… technically… you’re not wrong!https://t.co/qAtHpgs2rO
https://twitter.com/ProSyndicate/status/1027991553111977985
@GMPHyde I’ll be back next week 👍
— Tom (@Syndicate) August 10, 2018
The guys don’t need to call up again for a third time like they just did 30 minutes ago.
Hope that helps save your teams time and energy 😊
The situation with the police.. https://t.co/68IVKLqGwx pic.twitter.com/VEtaK1qat4
— Tom Syndicate (@ProSyndicate) August 16, 2018
On his Twitter feed, Cassell said he talked to police on the phone, and he was told that the flamethrower breaches a section of the law that reads that it’s illegal to have “any weapon of whatever description designed or adapted for the discharge of any noxious liquid, gas.” Cassell continued by writing, “So what does this mean? – Either hand the ‘Not-a-flamethrower’ over to the police. or, They arrest me for being in ‘possession of it’ & search my house for it. or, Obtain a warrant to search my house instead.”
Meanwhile, he said his lawyer is out of the country, and he’s waiting to hear back before proceeding.
Cassell told Kotaku that there wasn’t a warrant for his arrest, but he’s also declined to give up the flamethrower to police.
“When I first spoke with them, they asked for me to hand over the Not-A-Flamethrower, to which I replied that I wouldn’t [be] doing [it] as I’m awaiting legal guidance before making any decisions,” he told the website.
In the video below, Cassell shows off his new purchase as he burns a little figurine of himself on a driveway.
Musk’s flamethrower has seen plenty of controversy since it was produced and made available to the public. He sold them for $500, and buyers have shot off flames near children and used it for cooking and baking purposes. Throughout the controversy, Musk has been whimsical about the dangers associated with giving flamethrowers to the 20,000 people who ordered them.
Manchester police, though, apparently aren’t so light-hearted about the subject.
H/T Kotaku