A Waterville man was arrested in Mountain View, California, on Sunday after allegedly making threats against Google.

Kyle Long, 33, was reportedly upset that his YouTube channel had been shut down and wanted to meet with Google, which owns YouTube, about the decision, according to a news release from the Mountain View Police Department. Long claimed he was losing money as a result of the channel being blocked, so he got in his car and drove across the continental United States.

Kyle Long Contributed photo

Google is headquartered in Mountain View.

Long was ultimately arrested by Mountain View police at around 1 p.m. on Sunday after a “high-risk car stop” near Highway 101 and Moffett Boulevard. Officers found three baseball bats inside his car at the time, as well as driving directions to Mountain View on his phone.

Long was later charged with criminal threatening and is being held at the Santa Clara County Jail with bail set at $25,000.

Waterville police reportedly notified the Mountain View department that Long could be violent.

“On Sunday, Waterville, Maine, police notified us that they had received information that Long was not only in California but that he had stated if his meeting with Google personnel did not go well, he was going to resort to physical violence,” the release states.

Waterville’s Deputy Chief Bill Bonney said that the tip did not come from Long himself.

“We did receive information about (the violence), but Kyle never called us,” he said.

Bonney declined to answer questions about the case, including any specific threats Long had made and the content of his YouTube videos.

Mountain View’s public Information Officer Katie Nelson also stated, “We do not have any information on what his YouTube channel contained, what his profile name was or anything like that.”

Iowa State Patrol had also reached out to Mountain View police after two run-ins with Long on Friday in which he disclosed his plans to travel to Google’s headquarters.

“Iowa State Patrol had spoken with Long twice that day, once after his vehicle was involved in a non-injury collision and a second time after he vandalized a restroom at a gas station store a short time later,” according to the news release.

The gas station reportedly decided not to press charges.

Mountain View’s police response included sending officers to patrol the Google facility and major highways in the area. They also notified all surrounding towns with Google or YouTube properties.

Long has a criminal history dating back to at least October 2015, when he led Maine State Police on a low-speed chase on Interstate 95 South near Sidney. He was arrested on charges of failing to stop for law enforcement, passing a road block, refusing to submit to arrest or detention and violating conditions of release.

Prior to the chase, state police received reports of a black Toyota pickup truck driving roughly 25 mph in the passing lane. State police spokesman Steve McCausland told the Bangor Daily News that Long “appeared to be impaired or having possible mental issues,” at the time of that arrest.

Mountain View Police Chief Max Bosel said Sunday’s arrest was the result of inter-state collaboration.

“This case highlights exceptional police work often unseen on a day-to-day basis — from the communication we had with two different departments in two different states to the awareness and rapid response from our officers,” he said. “We very much appreciated all the efforts that were made across the country to do everything possible to prevent this man bringing harm to others.”

Meg Robbins — 861-9239
mrobbins@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @megrobbins