Threats Of ‘Purge’-Like Violence Spread On Social Media

Threats Of ‘Purge’-Like Violence Spread On Social Media

By Adrienne Cutway, Orlando Sentinel

ORLANDO, Fla. — Authorities are on alert after images began circulating online last week claiming that several cities will experience a night of legal violence just like in the movie “The Purge.”

In the horror film, there is a 12-hour period one night a year when all crime — including murder — is completely legal.

“The Purge” social media prank began gaining national attention last week when a teen posted a tweet of an image he created saying a purge would take place in Louisville, Ky., Friday night, according to WAVE 3 News. Louisville police took the threat seriously and increased patrol on the night of the alleged purge.

Around the same time the Louisville teen posted the threat on Twitter Wednesday, a screenshot from a fake news site claiming that 112 people in Chicago had been killed when a group of teens decided to re-enact the horror movie was heavily reblogged on Tumblr.

The satire site Cream Bmp Daily posted the fake story shortly after “The Purge: Anarchy” debuted last month, although it went mostly unnoticed until last week.

No “Purge”-like violence broke out in Louisville and the teen responsible for the original tweet apologized to police, but the images threatening violence in other cities are still circulating online.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office released a public statement on Facebook saying officials there are aware of the threatened purge but at this point they don’t believe the threats are credible.
Some images list the date for that purge as Aug. 31 while others list Aug. 20 as a purge date for Orlando, Jacksonville, Kissimmee, and Pensacola in Florida.

Despite the prevalence of these images and more that list major cities across the country, no actual purge has taken place.

AFP Photo/Emmanuel Dunand

Interested in national news? Sign up for our daily email newsletter!

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

Joe Biden
President Joe Biden

Last week,The Economist's presidential polling average set in motion a reevaluation of the general election when President Joe Biden pulled ahead of Donald Trump for the first time since September 2023.

Keep reading...Show less
Alex Jones

Alex Jones

At a press conference on Tuesday, March 26, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told reporters that there was no sign of terrorism or foul play in the collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge — which had been struck by a freighter. According to Moore and the Biden White House, there was no indication that it was anything other than a tragic accident.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}