YouTuber 'Trashman' charged over threats to poison baby food

A New York man known for stirring up controversy on YouTube was arrested Thursday by federal authorities after allegedly claiming he had instructed Gerber employees to lace baby food with cyanide.

Anton Dunn, a 42-year-old from Manhattan who goes by "Trashman" on YouTube, has a moderate following on the video site, but probably not for the right reasons. Earlier this year, some of the tabloid press picked up on a video he posted in which he claimed to have purposely infected more than 1,500 women with the AIDS virus. He has also claimed to have killed two people.

Some found his videos funny, but others were offended and plenty of "response" videos pepper the site.

Then, in a series of videos from April to July, he allegedly detailed the workings of a plan to poison Gerber products, which ultimately resulted in his arrest. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Dunn is charged with sending threats in interstate commerce and falsely claiming to have tampered with a consumer product. The charges could result in up to 10 years in prison or heavy fines.

Critics will likely say it's a case of authorities overreacting to a case of over-the-top, look-at-me comedy. But the Trashman videos, in which Dunn wears masks to disguise his identity and rants in a humorless tone, don't look like they were made to make people laugh.

Other YouTube members quickly posted videos of local news reports detailing his arrest.

[umbrae]

We are in trouble if the government is going to randomly jump on every idiot on the Internet. Maybe we haven't caught Bin Laden because he doesn't use YouTube.

[t26l]

You are an idiot. Almost every really bad thing that has happened in recent years, someone has come forward and said, I saw him buying guns, but I didn't think anything of it. Yeah he said he might kill some people, but I didn't think he would really do it. And that is why you are an idiot.

[GadgetDon]

He's probably just a nut. Some nuts are violent nuts, and how'd you like to be the investigator who just wrote it off, and later found out he did what he said he'd do?

[tacit]

The government isn't randomly jumping every idiot on the Internet--only idiots who make credible threats to commit murder.

[nickbrunch]

I think the Govt. did a sensible job. If a guy can think of stuff like this...there is something terribly wrong with him. It is only a matter of time before things like these become real.

[shayfur]

I think the goverment should lock him up and throw away the key, if not worse. I dont' know if any of you realize this or even saw the article but this is the same man who, back in April, claimed to have INTENTIONALLY INFECTED over 1500 YOUNG GIRLS with HIV/AIDS and shouted out names of several young ladies on his video. He is OBVIOUSLY a VERY DISTURBED INDIVIDUAL and he as well as those of his kind have no place in society!

[ittesi259]

If you believe its possible to have sex with that many people then more power to you.....thats not what he got arrested for so get over it. Claiming to poison the baby food supply of a major national manufacturer is another story entirely.

[Get_Bent]

Trashman is a dumb*ss.

[4score20]

Now this is the sort of person who should be locked up permanently in Guantanamo.

[lperuski]

Agreed...and charge him rent...

[colamix]

Some idiots like Seung-Hui Cho (Virginia Tech) follow through on their demented Youtube threats.

[XAFAfterShock]

youtube should be shut down, 99% of the vids on there are garbage and not created by the user in the 1st place. Or they should start charging a monthly fee to use the service, that would eliminate a big chunk of the idiots like trashman and there are much worse people than him on youtube

[ioWint]

Its insane to do such things, bt its realy insane to hang him fr tat.. arresting him, is fine.. but until things are proved, u cant penalise him.. all he could be a realy realy disturbed guy..
But first go get a sane bot to remove al INsane videos from Youtube. atleast tat google could do.. rather geting itself shut down!

[yacahuma]

I am glad the government took action. Another idiot in jail, 5 million to go.

[C1234567890]

Some of you are the ones who scare me. Why are you supporting the idea of thought crimes? Have you ever heard of presumption of innocence? Making stupid videos on the internet is in no way comparable to shouting FIRE in a crowded building. Just because his rambling might worry you, he has done nothing to endanger anyone.

When you get the police state you are clamoring for, you'll have no one to blame for yourself.

[YungMillzHCU]

this guy is craving attention if you really think somebody is goin to go online and post vdeos claiming he murdered 2 people (R.I.P Stack Bundles & Jam Master J) and he's going to lace baby food with cyanide something wrong. Why is it no one wanted to arrest him when he claimed he commited the 2 murders or when he claimed he broke in to Wendy Williams house and stole her panties? America open ya eyes man if he really did instruct people to do that why aren't babies mysteriously dying? In addition, if you really think about it what so called gangster/hitman knows people that work in a Gerber factory. He's scared to take off the mask just because he knows if he did all of that without the mask his head would be hanging on someone's wall

[Cuaron]

Damn my Nukka why did you do that... I know as a webmaster you often lie to attract people to join but this **** was way over the top...