A self-proclaimed California “incel” is facing federal charges on Tuesday after allegedly committing a string of violent assaults and harassing several women for months—and posting some of the assaults on his Youtube channel.
Johnny Deven Young, 25, was hit with several crimes—including assault with great bodily injury, illegal use of tear gas, personal use of a deadly weapon, eight hate crime enhancements, and faces misdemeanor counts of violation of civil rights—after prosecutors say he attacked at least six people in three different incidents dating to last November, according to an Orange County Superior Court criminal complaint obtained by The Daily Beast.
Young, who has been wanted by police since May, also allegedly attacked a man who tried to stop him. He appeared in court Monday after being arrested in San Mateo County and is now being held on a $500,000 bond until October arraignment.
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“No one should have to live in fear that they could be indiscriminately attacked and then publicly humiliated on the Internet because of their gender,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a Tuesday statement. “This behavior is disgusting and the celebration of this behavior by like-minded individuals is completely unacceptable. These charges send a very strong message to that entire community that we will not tolerate violence against women in any form.”
The Orange County District Attorney's Office also noted that Young previously had a misdemeanor hate crime conviction in Nevada. According to the LA Times, police arrested him and another man in August 2019 after the pair allegedly shouted “white power” before claiming they were going to “shoot up” a club.
“He was transported to Orange County Jail last week after being convicted on a misdemeanor case in San Mateo County,” the DA’s office said in the statement announcing the charges. Prosecutors also noted that Young is a member of the “involuntary celibate” online community, a misogynist group of men who complain about women rejecting them.
Costa Mesa Police say Young’s spree began on Nov. 21, 2021, when Young allegedly approached a man and woman outside a Triangle Square bar as they were helping a friend off the ground. Young began to allegedly verbally harass the woman, saying “he wanted to see her genitals, and asked to have sexual relations with her.” When her friend tried to help the woman, Young pepper sprayed them both before fleeing the scene.
In an interview with KTLA, the woman said that Young’s camera was visible when he approached her and her friends after they left the Costa Mesa bar. “I just saw him with the camera and when he got in my face with it. I kinda thought it was a joke and he was just doing something, either for internet clout, or just to be some weird social experiment,” Emily told the outlet.
Later, police would find two videos posted on Young’s social media page in April that showed two other altercations. In one of the videos, Young allegedly approaches a woman in tears in a parking garage. After the woman tells Young her car has been stolen, police say he immediately responded by asking “can I hook up with you?” Police say the woman rejects Young, causing him to verbally harass her.
Another video shows Young allegedly describing his penis to three women on a bench on April 17, 2022. After one of them kicks him and tells him to go away, Young is allegedly seen pepper-spraying her and another woman standing behind her. He then sprayed a third woman who tried to stop him before he fled.
The woman who was attacked in the April incident, identified in an interview with KTLA as Jessica, said she was with her two friends waiting for an uber outside a nightclub when Young approached the group.
“You can’t describe the pain, it was horrible,” Jessica said about the pepper spray.
