20-year-old charged with arson back in custody after false social media posts
GIBSON COUNTY, Tenn. — We have some additional information regarding the arrest of a man who allegedly was making false reports.
According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, an arrest warrant was obtained for 20-year-old Carson Lane Pledge. This warrant is charging Pledge with false reports of emergency, bomb, and fire. TBI agents began investigating at the request of 28th Judicial District Attorney General Frederick Agee. We spoke with Agee to get more clarification.
“He’s already been charged with arson and vandalism, so I requested the TBI investigate these questionable social media posts, and basically they were alluding to bombings and explosives that had been found or had been discharged in Gibson County on certain roads,” Agee told us.
Pledge was arrested for arson back in August. Regarding the social media posts, we asked Agee why this would warrant an arrest.
SEE ALSO: Month-long arson investigation leads to arrest of 20-year-old (8/22/24)
“It’s causing law enforcement to have to respond,” said Agee. “So when you do a false report and law enforcement has to respond, that’s something where we’re taking our resources away where they could be focused on other things, and yes, the community was concerned.”
Speaking more about why these alleged actions result in legal action, Agee said that it can cause panic in the community.
“It’s a false report. It’s a C felony under Tennessee law,” Agee said. “There’s a case law that says you can’t stand up in the middle of a theatre and yell ‘fire’ because people would rush out and possibly stampede each other and get hurt or possibly even killed.”
Agee also told us that, contrary to the social media posts, there have been no explosives or bombs found on any roads recently.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office recently made a post saying that a page called “Jackson-Madison County Crime Watchers” is not affiliated with them and has been making false posts as well.
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