‘Who’s scared of coronavirus?’ Man licks Walmart deodorant in video, Missouri cops say

Dawson White
·2 min read

A man in Missouri was arrested after police say he filmed himself licking a row of deodorant at Walmart to make a statement about coronavirus.

In the video — which can be seen here — a man stands in front of shelves of deodorant and asks “Who’s scared of coronavirus? Don’t touch your mouth?” before licking a row of merchandise.

The video appears to have been shared to Snapchat before making its way to Twitter where it’s been viewed more than 4 million times as of Tuesday.

A man in Missouri was arrested after police say he filmed himself licking a row of deodorant at a local Walmart.
A man in Missouri was arrested after police say he filmed himself licking a row of deodorant at a local Walmart.

The coronavirus, which has infected nearly 400,000 people worldwide, is believed to be transmitted person-to-person through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Police in Warren County said the man has been arrested, according to a statement posted to Facebook Monday. He was identified in court records Tuesday as Cody Lee Pfister, 26, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He’s charged with a second degree terrorist threat, the outlet reported.​​

The incident took place on March 11, according to the Post-Dispatch.​

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Officials said the department had received reports of the video from all over the world.

“This particular video ... has gained some international attention and we have received numerous reports about the video from locals, nearby residents, as well as people from the Netherlands, Ireland, and the United Kingdom,” the statement released on Facebook March 23 said. “We take these complaints very seriously and would like to thank all of those who reported the video so the issue could be addressed.”​​

Warren County is located just west of St. Louis.

On Sunday, British news broadcaster Piers Morgan posted to Twitter calling for the man’s arrest and the denial of healthcare should he contract the virus.

Other Twitter users shared his outrage.

“Arrest and lock up,” one user wrote.

“I’ve had people tell me I’m paranoid for not taking the item at the front of the display and washing packaging when I get home,” wrote another. “THIS IS WHY, HATERS. THIS IS WHY.”

“Arrest him,” wrote a third. “How sad that this generation does stupid crap like this to feel important and relevant.”

Earlier this month, a man in Texas was sentenced to 30 days in jail and more than $2,000 in fines and restitution for opening and licking a carton of Blue Bell ice cream at Walmart last year, CNN reported.