The F.B.I. executed a search warrant early Wednesday morning on the California residence of Jake Paul, a brash YouTube provocateur who was not too long ago criticized for internet hosting a big home celebration throughout the pandemic, in response to the company.
The search of Mr. Paul’s residence in Calabasas, northwest of Los Angeles, was performed as a part of an investigation, mentioned Rukelt Dalberis, a spokesman for the F.B.I.’s Los Angeles area workplace.
Mr. Dalberis mentioned he was prohibited from disclosing particulars of the investigation that prompted the search. The contents of the warrant are below seal, he mentioned, including that he couldn’t say once they could be made public.
An F.B.I. spokeswoman mentioned SWAT crew was used to enter the home, and that no arrests had been deliberate. Mr. Paul was not residence on the time, she mentioned.
Helicopter footage from ABC 7 in Los Angeles showed the authorities carrying firearms from the house and loading them into an S.U.V.
Mr. Paul’s representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
Mr. Paul, 23, is best known for using controversy and internet feuds to draw viewers to his YouTube channel, which has more than 20 million followers. He documents his life on social media and travels with a team that includes a videographer.
Mr. Paul has found himself in trouble with the authorities lately.
Last month, he hosted a large daylong party at his Calabasas home where guests did not wear masks or observe social distancing guidelines as they swung from construction machinery, according to Insider. Guests posted videos to Instagram, and angry neighbors also shared videos on social media.
Mayor Alicia Weintraub of Calabasas condemned the event.
“It wasn’t just myself who was outraged, it was everyone who saw the video,” she told Fox 11, vowing that nothing like it would ever happen again.
“It’s just a big huge disregard for everything that everybody is trying to do to get things back to functioning,” she said. “It’s really just a party acting like Covid does not exist; it’s acting that businesses aren’t closed.”
In June, Mr. Paul was charged with trespassing and unlawful assembly after he entered a mall in Scottsdale, Ariz., that was being looted. His videographer filmed Mr. Paul handling a stolen bottle of vodka amid the looting and posted the footage to social media.
In the days after that incident, Mr. Paul insisted that he had gone to the mall simply to see what was going on, and to capture footage to use on his YouTube channel.
On Wednesday, the charges against Mr. Paul and two other men were dismissed without prejudice, according to the Scottsdale Police Department, which said in an email that the decision was in the “best interest of the community” and would allow the federal criminal investigation to be completed.
Police officials said that they retained the option to refile charges depending on the outcome of the federal investigation.
Neil Vigdor contributed reporting.
