Who is the TikTok Fugitive? Man goes viral after saying he’s falsely targeted by the FBI

Alice Sjöberg
TikTok Fugitive

Chad Hower, who is also known as the TikTok Fugitive, has gone viral after claiming that the FBI and INTERPOL have falsely targeted him and put him on the most wanted list for years – despite their evidence being proven wrong.

The TikTok Fugitive, whose real name is Chad Hower, has gone viral on TikTok after sharing his story of being wanted by both the FBI and INTERPOL for kidnapping his 13-year-old son in 2009 – despite several court documents disputing these claims.

Chad has been chasing his freedom for the past 13 years after his ex-wife made kidnapping claims, sparking a thorough FBI investigation. The allegations stated that Chad kidnapped his son, Alex, who is now 26 years old, despite having been in Europe at the time of the alleged crime and also having full legal custody of Alex at the time.

Because of this, the FBI found no evidence to support the claims and confirmed Hower’s innocence. Despite this, Chad spent several years in a Bulgarian prison and is now forced to remain in his Caribbean home.

For years, the father and son duo have blogged about the events to try to get their story out. They have now turned to TikTok to help share his story.

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What happened to the TikTok Fugitive?

Speaking to Ike Wingate in a recent podcast episode, Chad revealed that he moved to Cyprus in 2001 after his divorce was finalized. But traveling to Bulgaria in 2009 to speak at a conference, he was arrested by five armed INTERPOL agents. He was then put in a total of five Bulgarian prisons in the span of three months.

He was then released after his extradition to the US was denied. And it’s been denied two more times since then.

“[The FBI] tried to extradite me. I had been through three extraditions in multiple countries, and every country they’ve tried to extradite me from, the FBI has been sent packing because their claim is not even credible,” Chad said.

“They forged my son’s birth state, they lied about where I’m from, and they lied about where I was in November 2006, and I have evidence to prove all of this,” Chad argued.

He then went one step further and said: “This was no mistake. The FBI knew what they were doing. They knew they were lying from the get-go when we went into court. They knew they were lying.”

Why is the FBI interested in arresting the TikTok Fugitive?

In the podcast, Chad revealed that he had two theories as to why the FBI and INTERPOL want him arrested.

The first theory is that it’s all a big misunderstanding and mistake on the FBI’s part – but he doesn’t really believe this.

“So there are four judges so far that have been involved in this kidnapping thing, and they’ve all upheld it. And so it can’t be a simple mistake on a mistake and a mistake. They’re doing this intentionally,” Chad claims.

The second theory has to do with his in-laws, who used to work as senior engineers and had access to Russian military secrets.

“One of the working theories is that some CIA agent had a wet dream that they could recruit me and possibly turn me on my wife’s parents to get Russian military secrets. So they wanted to get me into custody and try to force me to work for them,” he said.

“And I had three intelligence agencies approach me, all US allies, in trying to recruit me when I worked for Microsoft and remarried a Russian citizen in 2002.”

TikTok Fugitive pleads for help as he’s in need of medical assistance

After spending years in a Bulgarian prison, Chad is now suffering from kidney failure. And due to being in hiding on the tiny island, he is unable to get the medical attention he needs.

“I have a very serious medical condition that needed addressed years ago, and they’re preventing me from getting surgery. Because I live on an island of 35,000 people. Our hospital here cannot perform the surgery and I need to travel. And the FBI knows I need to travel, and they’re blocking me from traveling because they want me to die here,” Chad claimed.

“I’m in a lot of pain. I need urgent medical assistance. I’m continuing to lose kidney function every week, so I need help.”

Even though several judges have upheld that Chad is not guilty of the kidnapping charges that have been put against him, the FBI is still wanting to arrest him.

Chad revealed that the FBI does in fact know where on the island of St Kitts, and that he will arrest him if he leaves.

“They have tons of court documents of them saying they know exactly where I live and that they’ve lost three extraditions, and that they cannot get me unless I travel off this tiny island,” Chad said.

“So if I travel anywhere, even to say the island can see out my window, I will be arrested and I’ll be put through the extradition proceedings which can take anywhere from months to years, and I’ll typically be held in a prison during that time.”