Police have arrested a suspect allegedly connected to multiple online threats that led to the evacuation of TikTok’s headquarters near Los Angeles on Friday. According to a press release from the Culver City Police Department, TikTok employees reported receiving numerous threats across various social media platforms from 33-year-old Hawthorne resident Joseph Mayuyo. After an additional message specifically threatened the Culver City headquarters, company security evacuated the office out of an abundance of caution.
Police then investigated Mayuyo’s home. During the investigation, he allegedly posted additional threatening statements, including one declaring that he would not be taken alive. Detectives obtained search and arrest warrants and negotiated with Mayuyo for ninety minutes before he voluntarily exited his home and was taken into custody.
One TikTok employee described the threats as really scary, while another expressed concern that the threats seemed to specifically target the e-commerce department. Mayuyo’s X account has reportedly been suspended for violating the platform’s hateful content policy. A Medium account under his name had published a post in July criticizing TikTokShop USA as a scam.
TechCrunch has reached out to TikTok for comment. In their press release, the police department praised TikTok’s security team for their quick action, collaboration, and professionalism throughout the case.
This arrest occurs as TikTok’s U.S. operations are being spun out from Chinese owner ByteDance into a new joint venture with a new board of directors. President Donald Trump, who has been discussing the deal for many months, recently signed an executive order approving the sale.