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A Cave Junction, Ore., man pleaded guilty today after threatening to kill 100 YouTube employees because the company removed his account when he violated the site's terms of service, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon announced.
Court records show that YouTube removed William Gregory Douglas' account in August of 2018. In response, Douglas posted tweets in which he threatened to a mass shooting at the company's San Bruno, Calif. headquarters.
"I would kill the 100 YouTube employees if givent he change [sic]
@TeamYouTube," he tweeted on August 23, 2018. "You Guys Are fucking Criminals As FuCK FuCK FuCK You @YOUTUBE you want a bigger mass casualty aka shooting let's see what I can do."
On September 17, 2018, he sent direct a message to YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki's Twitter account: "Susan I'm coming/or you today #pray."
Douglas, 37, was initially charged with cyberstalking in October of 2018. On January 24, 2020, he was charged with one count of making interstate communications with the intent to extort, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a press release.
"Threatening a mass shooting is a serious crime whether or not an individual plans to act. This is a crime that undermines Americans' fundamental right to live and work without fear," Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, said in a press release.
Douglas faces up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. His sentencing is scheduled for May 14.
