Newly released bodycam footage shows the arrest of fitness influencer Brian Johnson, better known online as Liver King, after police said a series of videos aimed at Joe Rogan crossed into a criminal threat investigation.
In a report from the bodycam footage YouTube channel EWU Bodycam, the host said Johnson’s followers had become increasingly concerned after he posted multiple videos calling out Rogan and saying he had traveled to Austin, Texas, where Rogan’s podcast studio is based.
“Joe Rogan, I’m calling you out,” Johnson said in one of the videos shown in the report. “Man to man, I’m picking a fight with you.”
The EWU Bodycam host said Austin police later located Johnson at a hotel and moved in to arrest him on a misdemeanor warrant, hoping to avoid a public confrontation involving a high-profile social media figure. The host also noted that anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Videos Spark Concern Before The Arrest
According to the EWU Bodycam report, the case began after Johnson posted a video to Instagram on June 23, 2025, challenging Rogan to fight.
“My name is Liver King,” Johnson said in the clip. “I have zero training in jiu-jitsu. You’re a black belt. You should dismantle me, but I’m picking a fight with you.”
The next day, Johnson posted another video showing that he had arrived in Austin. In the footage, he appeared to refer to the Texas capital while rambling about where he was and what he intended to do.
The report said officers with the Austin Police Department located Johnson at a hotel and approached him without uniforms, moving quietly through the building before speaking with him directly.
Before leaving with officers, Johnson gathered with members of his team and said a prayer. He then told those around him to record and post everything they could.
“Everything is the truth,” Johnson said. “Nothing is a lie.”
That moment gave the arrest an unusual tone from the beginning. Johnson did not appear to be hiding from attention; if anything, the footage suggests he understood that the arrest itself might become part of the online spectacle surrounding his challenge to Rogan.
Officers Take Him To The Station
The EWU Bodycam host said officers escorted Johnson outside, checked him for weapons, and allowed him to keep his cell phone at first.
As officers placed him into a vehicle, Johnson asked why handcuffs were required in the back of the car. An officer told him it was department policy.
Johnson also appeared confused about the day of the week, saying he had meetings scheduled and that Tuesday was when he “transact[s] with the outside world.”
During the ride and at the station, Johnson made several wandering comments about his background, Texas, Poland, danger, friendliness, and his identity as Liver King. When he arrived at the station and was taken into an interview room, he still appeared unsure why he was there.
“Have I arrested?” Johnson asked.
An officer told him he was under arrest and said the charge was called a terroristic threat.
“A terroristic threat,” Johnson replied. “Wow. I didn’t know terroristic.”
This is where the story shifts from online provocation into something more serious. Internet personalities often use exaggerated language to build attention, but when a person names a specific target, travels to that person’s city, and keeps posting about a confrontation, police may start treating it as more than performance.
The Detective Tries To Interview Him
The EWU Bodycam host said a detective later entered the room and tried to introduce himself, but Johnson quickly shut that down.
“If you don’t mind, I’m going to skip all that,” Johnson told him. “I don’t want to know about you.”
The detective read Johnson his Miranda rights, and Johnson asked what would happen if he terminated the interview. When the detective said he would be taken to jail, Johnson ended the conversation almost immediately.
“I’ll terminate this interview,” Johnson said. “Let’s go.”
The detective then asked for Johnson’s phone, explaining that phones were not allowed in the room under policy. Johnson resisted the request and focused on the wording.
“You said, ‘Do you mind?’ Yeah, I mind,” Johnson said.
The detective tried again, asking him to give over the phone, but Johnson said he would rather not. After the detective left, Johnson continued speaking alone in the room and appeared to tell someone to post the videos.
“Post that one also,” Johnson said. “Post the next ones, too.”
The exchange showed a strange mix of legal awareness and performance. Johnson understood enough to stop the interview, but he also seemed focused on turning each moment into content.
Police Say A Box Held Guns Intended For Rogan
According to the EWU Bodycam host, police records said Johnson had posted another video showing himself carrying a medieval axe and a black box with a Joe Rogan Experience sticker on top.
The host said Johnson was secretive about what was inside the box, but investigators later learned more from his executive protection employee, identified in the report as Justin.
According to police records cited by the host, Justin told an officer with the Violent Crimes Task Force that the box held two custom-made Staccato pistols that were meant to be gifts for Rogan.
That detail likely raised the stakes for investigators. A public challenge to fight is one thing; traveling to the target’s city while posting strange videos and carrying a box allegedly connected to firearms is something police would almost certainly take more seriously.
Johnson continued talking in the interview room, at times speaking as if he were addressing Rogan directly.
“You picked a fight, Joe Rogan, with another man, a real one,” Johnson said.
He also asked what law he had broken and suggested Rogan had “compromised something big,” while saying Texas was his home.
Rogan Told Police He Had No Contact With Johnson
The EWU Bodycam host said police records show officers spoke with Joe Rogan himself after Rogan’s security team made him aware of the posts.
According to the report, Rogan told officers he had never had any contact with Johnson and did not know why Johnson would be targeting him. Rogan also reportedly said Johnson appeared “significantly unstable” and seemed like he needed help.
That is an important part of the case because police were not only reacting to public posts. The person named in those posts had been contacted and said he found the situation threatening.
The report also included several of Johnson’s videos, including one where he repeatedly framed the week as “Rogan versus Liver King” and said he would be in Austin all week. In another clip, Johnson said he planned to record many videos and then stop recording for a long time.
Many of his followers, according to the EWU Bodycam host, expressed concern about his mental state after seeing those posts.
The videos are strange to watch because they sit somewhere between branding, provocation, and personal unraveling. Johnson built a public persona around intensity and primal performance, but the footage suggests that the same persona became difficult to separate from real-world consequences once another person was named as the target.
Johnson Is Taken To Jail
The bodycam footage later shows officers returning to place Johnson in handcuffs and transport him to jail.
When officers asked where his phone was, he said it was in his pocket. The phone continued playing audio on a table as they removed his property.
During the ride, Johnson asked whether it would be funny if he said he had another phone on him, joking that officers were supposed to take a person’s belongings the first time.
The EWU Bodycam host said Johnson posted a $20,000 bond the following day and was released from jail. As a condition of release, he was ordered to have no contact with the victim or his family and to wear a GPS monitor.
The next morning, according to the report, Johnson posted another video suggesting he still had future plans involving Rogan, though he also told people not to do anything to Rogan’s family and said he would stay away if alerted that anyone with the last name Rogan was nearby.
That kind of follow-up is exactly why release conditions exist. Even after an arrest, the concern is not only what happened before, but whether the same conduct will continue once the person is back online.
Case Later Dismissed After Counseling
According to the EWU Bodycam host, court documents show that 47-year-old Brian “Liver King” Johnson was charged with terroristic threat causing fear of imminent serious bodily injury.
The host said the case was dismissed in November 2025 after Johnson completed required counseling classes.
Johnson’s public image had already been controversial before the arrest. The bonus background provided for the case notes that he became famous through his raw-meat “ancestral lifestyle” brand and later faced backlash after admitting he had lied about steroid use.
Still, this incident was different from a normal influencer controversy. It involved a named target, police records, a warrant, bodycam footage, alleged weapons intended as gifts, and a legal order keeping him away from Rogan and his family.
The footage released by EWU Bodycam shows how quickly online attention-seeking can collide with real criminal procedure. What may have started as a challenge for views ended with officers in a hotel, an interrogation room, a jail transport, and a court case that only ended months later.
For Johnson, the case was eventually dismissed after counseling. For everyone watching, it remains a reminder that public threats, even when wrapped in influencer language or spectacle, can bring police to the door when they are aimed at a real person in the real world.
Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.
