According to a press release from the Culver City Police Department, TikTok employees received many threats via social media from Joseph Mayuyo (33 years old, residing in Hawthorne). After another message appeared directly targeting TikTok headquarters in Culver City, the company's security forces evacuated the office for safety reasons.
The police then conducted an investigation at Mayuyo's private home. During this process, the subject was accused of continuing to post threats, including a statement that he would not be arrested for life. After 90 minutes of negotiation, the police arrested the suspect without a conflict.
According to Business Insider, some TikTok employees described the threats as truly scary, and feared that they could target e-commerce.
Mayuyo's X social media account has been suspended for violating its policy on hostile content. On the Medium platform, his name once posted an article criticizing TikTok Shop USA for being a scam.
culver City Police sent a credit to TikTok's security team for their quick response and professional cooperation throughout the incident.
The arrest comes as TikTok in the US is being separated from Chinese parent company ByteDance to form an independent joint venture with a new executive committee. President Donald Trump recently signed an executive decree approving the sale of TikTok in the US.
