Chilton County sheriff investigates threatening social media post tied to viral trend

CHILTON COUNTY, Ala. (WSFA) - Investigators in Chilton County are trying to determine who is behind a threatening social media post connected to a viral trend.

Some users on TikTok have started posting an altered version of the Dr. Seuss “Cat in the Hat” character. The videos are often AI-generated and contain vague and threatening messages targeting schools or students.

Sheriff calls threats a criminal act

Chilton County Sheriff John Shearon said threatening or intimidating schools and students is not a joke.

“It causes alarm and it worries people. The parents, they’re not wanting kids to go to school. It disrupts the school system, everything because they’re just causing an alarm because of the threats that they’re making. They may think it’s a joke, but it’s not. It’s a criminal act,” Shearon said.

The sheriff does not believe there is a real threat but has increased law enforcement presence at schools.

“Anytime you’re making a threat, especially toward a school or students, it’s a serious thing. And like I said, we’re going to find you. And if we prosecute you, we’re going to prosecute you to a full extent of the law,” Shearon said.

Sheriff urges public to report, not share, posts

Shearon said anyone who sees one of the posts should report it immediately and not share it.

“Don’t repost it because that helps further the alarm and cause confusion and everything else when it’s reposted. If you see something, get it, send it to us so we know what’s going on with it so we can get on board as soon as it happens so we can get things rolled out,” Shearon said.

Shearon cautioned against reposting or sharing threatening posts, saying sharing the content can create additional fear and may interfere with an investigation. He also cautioned against participating in the trend, saying that even if people believe it is a joke, threatening or intimidating schools and students can have serious consequences.

Threat not isolated to just Chilton County schools

Other counties in Alabama, and across the country, have also noticed the trend happening in their school systems, including Elmore County, where the sheriff’s office is taking much the same approach as in Chilton County.

Talk to your kids about what they see online. Don’t share or repost the threats. Report threats to law enforcement.

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