YouTube star Jake Paul’s LA home raided by FBI after big party

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Multiple high-powered firearms were seized at YouTube star Jake Paul’s Los Angeles home on Wednesday during an FBI investigation in connection to his arrest during an Arizona mall looting in May.

Heavily-armed agents dressed in tactical gear descended on the $6.9million property in military vehicles around 6am local time after executing a sealed search warrant, TMZ reported. 

Aerial footage of the raid, taken by ABC7, showed law enforcement officers walking out of the sprawling Calabasas mansion with several rifles in hand, before loading them onto police vehicles as apparent evidence.

A second FBI raid was also conducted at a separate property belonging to fellow social media personality and friend of Paul, Armani Izadi in Las Vegas, the outlet said. Izadi was also arrested during the looting in Arizona. 

In June, Paul was charged with criminal trespass and unlawful assembly by authorities in Scottsdale, Arizona who say they were sent ‘hundreds of tips’ claiming Paul was ‘a participant in the riot.’ The case against both Paul and Izadi was later dropped by the City Attorney ahead of Wednesday’s raid by the FBI. 

In a statement the Scottsdale Police Department said: ‘It is in the best interest of the community to dismiss misdemeanor charges without prejudice so that a federal criminal investigation can be completed. Scottsdale retains the option to refile charges depending on the outcome of the federal investigation.’  

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In one shot from the scene in LA, a long-barreled gun was spotted in the backyard resting against a hot tub that has been featured in many of the social media influencer’s recent YouTube videos.   

At least 20 federal agents were seen riding in on a procession of military vehicles, including an armored truck during the operation. Several U.S. government marked cars were also spotted in the vicinity.

Authorities refused to comment on the nature of the raid since the warrant has been sealed by a judge, but confirmed they did not plan to make any arrests in the search. A source told TMZ: ‘The FBI is investigating allegations of criminal acts surrounding the incident at Scottsdale Fashion Square in May, 2020.’ 

In a statement shared on social media, the City of Calabasas confirmed that it was Paul’s home that was being raided by the FBI, which was using the city hall parking lot as a staging area. 

The 23-year-old YouTuber however, had been out of state during the search operation, his attorney Richard Schonfeld told TMZ. The lawyer said they plan to cooperate with the investigation.  

Jake faced widespread backlash after cell phone footage shared by Paul’s videographer Andrew Blue in May showed the social media star at the Arizona mall at the time of the looting. 

He is first spotted outside the Fashion Square Mall as protesters appear to shoot fireworks at the building’s entrance. Later, Paul films a group of police officers stationed at the mall to curb any looting or violence amid the George Floyd protests. 

‘Bunch of f****** idiots, bro,’ he says. The caption on the video reads ‘American is in ruins.’

He claims to have walked on a sidewalk near the officers who allegedly teargassed him.

‘Literally I walked right here, right up to there. these f****** idiots teargassed me. I ain’t doing s***, bro. Look at them pointing guns at me,’ Paul said.

‘Look at them. Twenty guns on me. Twenty guns on me right now,’ he adds before saying ‘Rest in Peace, George Floyd’ and flipping his middle finger at the officers. 

Paul later tried to distance himself from the situation in a statement saying he was in no way involved in any looting or vandalism. 

Sources told the LA Times a SWAT team had been deployed to gain entry into the viral star’s house. The armed units are usually called in to situations that are deemed high-risk, such as at properties where weapons are believed to be present.     

Agents were reported to have searched the 15,000 square-foot home for about an hour and half.  

‘The FBI is executing a federal search warrant at a residence in Calabasas in connection with an ongoing investigation,’ a bureau spokesperson said. 

‘The affidavit in support of the search warrant is sealed and we are, therefore, prohibited from commenting as to the nature of the investigation.’  

Similar scenes unfolded at the Graffiti Mansion owned by Izadi, where heavily-armed units were seen descending on the home.  Footage showed at least one person being taken away in handcuffs. Sources told TMZ the raid was related to the investigation at Paul’s home.  

DailyMail.com has contacted Paul’s reps for comment.  

Paul rose to fame alongside his brother Logan Paul, 25, on now defunct-video app Vine before transitioning to YouTube, where he now has over 20 million subscribers to his channel which features stunts, pranks, stories from his personal life, and more recently music videos. 

He most recently drew backlash last month for blatantly flouting social distancing guidelines as COVID-19 cases spiked in California, by throwing a massive party at the mansion. 

Calabasas mayor Alicia Weintraub expressed ‘outrage’ over the ‘outrageous gathering’ in which dozens of people without masks drank and danced.  

Paul later indicated to Insider last week that he would continue to do what he wants.

Videos emerged on social media shortly after the party, where revelers showed no concern for social distancing or wearing protective masks. 

People were seen drinking, playing beer pong, and swinging off a construction backhoe at the gathering. 

Revelers were both indoors and outdoors, crowded closely together without a mask in sight. 

Calabasas mayor Alicia Weintraub was left outraged after learning of the party and says she’s looking into ‘all options’ for penalties for Paul. 

Paul told Insider that he spoke to the mayor and ‘everything is cool,’ though he didn’t elaborate on what she said.

The mayor, meanwhile, said she didn’t speak to Paul at all, and only a representative for the the YouTuber. She said that possible fines would be issues in the future and the sheriff’s department would intervene. 

But Paul didn’t say that would put an end to his wild bashes, and insisted that it wasn’t clear to him how he should be behaving.

‘I don’t know what to think of it, to be honest. I don’t think anyone really does,’ he said. ‘No one has answers, our leadership is failing us, and everyone kind of just doesn’t know what to do.

‘But I personally am not the type of person who’s gonna sit around and not live my life,’ he added.

Paul’s July 16 party was thrown in spite of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desperate plea for people to be wary of the virus. 

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