Trans YouTube personality, Furry Potato (real name Zhoie Perez) was shot in the leg during a confrontation with a security guard at a Jewish synagogue and school in Los Angeles.
She live-streamed the entire incident on her YouTube channel Furry Potato Live.
Zhoie, who describes herself as a "first amendment auditor," uses her YouTube channel to share videos of herself at businesses and government buildings, confronting people, security guards and police officers. In theory, a first amendment auditor simply stands in a public place and films but does not put the camera down, explain, or identify themselves if approached by an officer since it is legal to film in public places.
They believe themselves to be patriots who are testing their first amendment rights. In practice, many auditors have blurred the lines for YouTube likes (there is a large subculture of First Amendment Auditors who share videos via social media.) That's left people pretty on-the-fence about the practice.
Zhoie herself has seen trouble over it in the past. She was for suspicion of terrorizing someone and causing fear. That arrest stemmed from a 2018 incident where she showed up at a US Marines recruiting office and made repeated threats and comments at a recruiter. Zhoie has a history of being non-cooperative and purposefully confrontational, but many would be quick to point out that doesn't typically warrant getting shot like she did recently.
Let's talk about the shooting.
Zhoie's live-stream shows her showing up at the synagogue/Hebrew school and loitering around the building for about a half hour. She comments on things like security flaws and features as well as the structure itself. A guard asks her why she is filming the synagogue and talking about security features, which she refuses to answer. The guard then tells her not to do anything crazy and tells her to stay away twice.
Zhoie continues doing what she's doing and eventually the guard goes inside. He soon reappears behind the gate and blocks the door. Again, he warns her to get away and warns her that he will shoot her.
Furry Potato Live/YouTube
A second video from the scene picks up where the first left off. Zhoie is still loitering in front of the synagogue/Hebrew school live-streaming repeatedly zooming in and out on the guard, his weapon, his uniform and badges, etc. The security guard is still inside the gate blocking the door.
He has his gun drawn now and is holding it in front of his waist aimed directly down at the ground. Zhoie tells her followers that the guard has pulled a gun on her. The guard again tells her that he will shoot her. She continues filming and gives the location of the synagogue - including the name and cross streets where the building can be found.
By this point in the video confrontation, the guard has become visibly agitated; he is swaying and repeatedly checking his surroundings and has holstered his weapon once again. Zhoie brings the camera closer and the guard pulls his weapon out again, aiming at the ground, and firmly tells her "Get Away."
At the 4:04 mark in video 2, Zhoie moves the camera forward and the guard fires a single shot at the ground inside of the gate. Zhoie screams that she has been shot:
"Ah, f*cker shot me! F*cker shot me in the leg fuck. F*ck!"
The video continues for a further 34 minutes, during which time the ambulance arrives to assist. She refuses to give her name or explain what she was doing but does say "I was sitting there filming from the sidewalk and that asshole just shot me. He shot me through the gate."
The video does show a wound on Zhoie's leg.
Zhoie was transported to the hospital and the security officer was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. The video has become incredibly popular, with her YouTube fans chiming in passionately.
Many complained about her treatment, several shared plans to "audit" the location or to head to the scene themselves.
YouTube Screenshot
YouTube Screenshot
YouTube Screenshot
Did she go too far?
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