Police say they have arrested a man allegedly behind multiple online threats that led TikTok to evacuate its Culver City headquarters near Los Angeles on Friday.
According to a press release from the Culver City Police Department, TikTok employees reported receiving several threatening messages on different social media platforms from 33-year-old Hawthorne resident, Joseph Mayuyo. One of the messages reportedly targeted TikTok’s Culver City office, prompting the company’s security team to evacuate the building “out of an abundance of caution.”
Officers later traced the threats to Mayuyo’s home. While police were investigating, he allegedly continued posting disturbing messages online, including one where he claimed he would not be taken alive. Detectives then obtained search and arrest warrants and spent about 90 minutes negotiating with Mayuyo before he finally surrendered peacefully.
According to Business Insider, some TikTok employees described the situation as “really scary,” with one person noting that the threats appeared to target the e-commerce department specifically.
Reports indicate that Mayuyo’s X (formerly Twitter) account was suspended for violating hateful content policies. A Medium account under his name also published a post in July calling TikTok Shop USA a “scam.”
TikTok has not yet released an official comment, but police praised the company’s security team for their quick action and cooperation during the investigation.
Related: TikTok U.S. Ownership Deal Advances as Oracle, Investors Step In
This arrest comes at a sensitive time for TikTok, as its U.S. operations are being spun off from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, into a new joint venture with a new board of directors. The move follows an executive order signed by former U.S. President Donald Trump, approving the sale after months of discussion about data security and ownership.
