A 26-year-old Missouri man, of Warrenton, accused of tampering with merchandise at a local Walmart as part of a coronavirus prank video has been charged with making terrorist threats.
The video shows Cody Lee Pfister asking, “Who’s scared of coronavirus?” before licking several sticks of deodorant, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The alleged incident took place on March 11.
Court docs say Pfister “knowingly caused a false belief or fear that a condition involving danger to life existed,” and acted “with reckless disregard of the risk causing the evacuation, quarantine or closure of any portion” of the Walmart store.
Warrenton police posted the following statement on Facebook: “This particular video, which won’t be shared here, has gained some international attention and we have received numerous reports about the video from locals, nearby residents, as well as people from the Netherlands, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.”
Pfister was booked into the Warren County jail without bond. He has previous convictions for burglary, theft of a firearm, drug possession and driving while intoxicated.