Jack Howland
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
TYLER COUNTY, Texas — A Tyler County man who falsely claimed he had coronavirus in a Facebook post told police he did it as a social experiment.
Michael Lane Brandin, 23, of Woodville, wanted to “make a point that you cannot believe everything you view online,” the Tyler County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
A warrant was issued for his arrest on Tuesday on the charge of false alarm or report, a misdemeanor, according to the sheriff’s office. He turned himself in on Tuesday.
His bond has been set at $1,000.
The sheriff’s office reportedly received multiple reports on March 13 of a Facebook post where a Tyler County man claimed he tested positive for COVID-19 at the Tyler County Hospital. Due to the growing concerns over coronavirus across the country and in Texas, law enforcement, medical workers and emergency management officials responded, the sheriff’s office said.
As deputies investigated the alleged illness, the sheriff’s office said, they discovered Brandin had published the post as a social experiment.
Criminal District Attorney Lucas Babin filed an official complaint that led to County Judge Jacques Blanchette issuing a warrant for his arrest on the charge of false alarm or report, according to the news release.
The charge, as described in the Texas Penal Code, is applicable when a person knowingly communicates a report of an emergency they know to be false that would require a response from an official or volunteer agency.