The Stokes twins

Alan and Alex Stokes (born November 23, 1996)[1] are Internet celebrities known for their YouTube and TikTok channels with 5 million[2] and 26 million[3] subscribers respectively. They began making videos separately and then combined their following into a shared twins account.[4]

In 2020, they were arrested and charged in response to staging two fake bank robberies for their viewers.

Personal life

The brothers are of Caucasian and Chinese descent.[1] In February 2019, Alex Stokes had emergency surgery after his appendix burst.[5]

Criminal charges

In August 2020, the Stokes brothers were charged with false imprisonment effected by violence, menace, fraud or deceit and falsely reporting an emergency in connection, or swatting with a YouTube video that they had recorded in October 2019.[6] The video contained two separate fake bank robberies as pranks, where the brothers pretended to be robbers; dressed all in black, wearing ski masks and carrying duffle bags,[7] and are attempting to make a getaway by asking unsuspecting people for clothing items or transportation help.[8]

At one instance they called an Uber driver, who was not aware of the prank, and after the driver refused to drive them they attempted to coerce him. Numerous bystanders called police in both prank attempts and footage of the pair being stopped by officers were added to the video.[8] The Uber driver was held at gunpoint by responding officers until it was determined the driver was not involved, and the brothers were warned but not arrested and continued to film the video with a second prank four hours later at University of California, Irvine.[7]

The twins attorneys have raised claims that the twins are not guilty of the charges as responding officers from the first prank reportedly gave suggestions for the video being filmed, and one brother reportedly called the Irvine Police Departments non-emergency line twice to tell them about the prank prior to the video being filmed. Their attorneys also raised concerns about the length of time between the video and the charges; ten months, and that the twins were not notified about the charges until after the department issued a press release about them.[2]

References
  1. World, Republic. "How old are the Stokes twins? Felony charge against the YouTube pranksters explained". Republic World. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  2. Topher Gauk-Roger (September 11, 2020). "Stokes Twins' lawyers say YouTube stars are not guilty of any crimes". CNN. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  3. Fielding, Anna (2020-09-07). "Pranks are big business on social media - but they may be going too far in search of laughs". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  4. Whateley, Dan. "A 'twinfluencer' with millions of followers says he's leaning into TikTok for brand sponsorships and getting 'low 5-figure deals'". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  5. "Famous YouTuber of the Stokes Twins Nearly Died After His Appendix Ruptured". Inside Edition. 2019-02-20. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  6. KABC (2020-08-06). "Orange County twin YouTube stars facing possible prison time over phony bank robbery". ABC7 Los Angeles. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  7. "Twin YouTube stars charged after Uber driver held at gunpoint during fake bank robbery". KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. 2020-08-08. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  8. Parker, Ryan (September 5, 2020). "YouTube Prank Stars Charged With Felony in Connection to Fake Bank Robberies | Hollywood Reporter". www.hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
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