TikTok “troll” arrested after threatening to bomb airport for prank content

After pushing his limits several times by making false threats to police officers for content, TikToker ‘tomthetroll’ was arrested for allegedly threatening to bomb an airport.

Self-proclaimed TikTok “troll,” Thomas Anthony Brienza, 20, of Centereach, New York, was reportedly arrested on August 24 after threatening to bomb the Charleston International Airport in South Carolina.

An incident report about the arrest stated that the TikTok prankster walked up to the police wearing a pair of glasses with a built-in camera.

Though he wasn’t carrying a firearm or a bomb, Brienza is accused of telling officers at the scene that he had a “strap,” which is slang for a gun. He also told them he had a bomb. The Tiktoker even said he had fentanyl inside his parked car.

Though he first claimed he was ready to blow up the airport, Brienza soon assured the authorities that he was only pranking them for social media views and that he didn’t have anything illegal in his possession.

Despite his efforts to back down from his threats, the TikToker was placed in handcuffs and charged with possession or threatened use of a weapon of mass destruction. He was booked at the Al Cannon Detention Center and posted a $100,000 bond.

Though authorities thought Brienza took this one too far, he’s been known to joke around with police officers for TikTok content.

On the same day of his arrest, the TikToker posted a video to the platform where he told a police officer that he had been “drinking and driving,” and that he was a “threat” to himself and others.

While that didn’t land him in jail, his joke was enough for some viewers to think he was “pushing his luck.”

Though Brienza wasn’t given a second chance for his airport threats, he isn’t the only TikToker to have been arrested in 2024 due to making falsely dangerous statements.

In May, Daniel Larson was apprehended after threatening to bomb multiple government agencies, buildings, and even the White House.