A 33-year-old man from Hawthorne has been arrested following a series of disturbing online threats directed at TikTok’s headquarters in Culver City, which prompted an evacuation of the premises on Friday as a safety precaution.
The Culver City Police Department stated that TikTok employees had received multiple threatening messages across various social media platforms, all traced back to Joseph Mayuyo. When a specific threat was made against the Culver City office, the company’s security team evacuated the building “out of an abundance of caution.”
Authorities swiftly executed search and arrest warrants at Mayuyo’s home. During the police response, Mayuyo allegedly continued to post threatening messages, one of which claimed he “would not be taken alive.” After about 90 minutes of negotiations, Mayuyo willingly left his residence and was taken into custody without incident. Investigators have charged him in connection with the criminal threats and confiscated evidence from his property.
Staff members described the threats as “really scary,” with concerns raised that the e-commerce department was being particularly targeted. Mayuyo’s account on X has been suspended due to violations of hateful content policies. Additionally, a post published on Medium in July under his name labelled TikTokShop USA a “scam.”
The police commended TikTok’s security team for their “quick action, collaboration, and professionalism” throughout the incident. TikTok has yet to issue an official response.
This incident occurs amid TikTok’s ongoing effort to separate its U.S. operations from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order giving the green light to a deal restructuring TikTok into a new U.S.-based joint venture chiefly owned by American investors, including Oracle and Silver Lake.
ByteDance retains a minority stake under 20%, with the arrangement intended to ensure American user data is stored domestically and that the platform’s algorithms operate under U.S. oversight.
This restructuring aims to alleviate national security concerns while allowing TikTok’s extensive American user base to continue using the service.