YouTube baby poison hoax leads to arrest

by Stevie Smith - Aug 1 2008, 09:48

In an extreme example of callous and cruel stupidity, a man has been arrested by federal authorities in America after he posted hoax Internet clips to video-sharing service YouTube, in which he claimed to have been instrumental in the poisoning of millions of bottles of Gerber baby food.

New Yorker arrested following Gerber baby food poisoning hoax on YouTube. Image: Booleansplit/Flickr.

42-year-old Anton Dunn of New York apparently boasted of the cyanide and rat poison attacks via three YouTube videos, claiming that he could not be caught and citing a desire to kill black and Hispanic children as his motivation. The Associated Press reports that, following his arrest, Dunn was charged with sending threats in interstate commerce and falsely claiming to have tampered with a consumer product.Currently being held in custody until a bail hearing scheduled for early next week, if Dunn is convicted to the full extent of the law on both charges he could face a maximum sentence of 10 years behind bars. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has said that alarm bells began ringing when Nestle-owned Gerber Products Co. was inundated with communications from concerned members of the public that had viewed the worrying YouTube clips.“We are aware of a recent posting on the Internet and believe this is a malicious hoax,” commented Nestle spokesman David Mortazavi regarding the matter. “The safety of Gerber and Nestle Nutrition products is our top priority. We are taking this issue seriously, and are cooperating fully with federal authorities.”Both the FDA and Gerber Products are keen to stress that absolutely no evidence of tampering has been uncovered with regard to Gerber’s baby food production line. The first 10-minute video is thought to have appeared on April 20, at which time a black man identifying himself only as the “Trashman” claimed to have orchestrated a massive attack by directing Gerber employees to deliver cyanide and rat poison into millions of baby food products. According to authorities, that initial video, and subsequent other YouTube clips running to July 24, showed Dunn (who attempted to hide his face with a mask) boasting that four babies had already died from the attack. The videos, some of which can still be viewed, also revealed that the poisonings were fuelled by a desire “to cut down on the black population.”

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Anarchy_CreatorAug 1st, 2008 - 13:40:39

Everyone knows [edited for being racist content] don't buy baby food let alone name brand baby food.This guy was fail from the get go.Also... first?Not that it matters cause this post wont get through the mod anyhow.So much for free speech, eh?Prove me wrong.

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What a sackAug 1st, 2008 - 13:47:35

Babies should not be harmed - ever!

People like this deserve to live alone on a deserted island filled with tics and fleas.

Have a great time in jail. You're gonna love it.

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