'Clavicular’ Caught in Wild Alligator Shooting Scandal

More trouble for popular influencer. Clavicular. He reportedly has now been. criminally charged in connection with. the alleged shooting at what appears to. be a dead alligator. Serious charge, bizarre story. [music] We're going to. break down this case, how this fits into. his other recent alleged [music]. episodes, too, and what we can predict. might happen. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law & Crime. I'm Jesse. Weber. Okay, so as you're watching this and. you've been following us here at Law &. Crime, and you're into content creation,

or you're putting things out on social. media, you might be wondering, how are. we able to get all of these clips up so. quickly on these rapidly developing. stories? Well, we use something called. Opus Clip. This is an all-in-one AI. editor that makes it so easy to cut, create, and upload videos across any. platform. Through AI, Opus Clip. generates B-roll, reframes footage, and. it even cleans up audio. Again, so easy. Just visit opus.pro/sidebar, you sign up, you upload, and in minutes, you will have perfectly edited clips. ready to go for TikTok, shorts, reels.

Opus Clip is really your one-stop shop, and having a tool like Opus Clip means. that our producers can get you viral. courtroom updates instantly. This is the. most powerful tool there is to share. ideas and edit like a pro. So, go to. opus.pro/sidebar. to get a free week and then 50% off. So, Clavicular is back in the headlines. again for all the wrong reasons. We just. did another episode. We had a recent. episode where we did a deep dive into.

how this very popular looks maxing. influencer was sued by a female. influencer regarding allegations of. non-consensual sex and improperly. injecting her face with a drug. You can. watch that whole episode out right now. on Law & Crime's YouTube page if you're. interested in that. But now, it looks. like he has been criminally charged for. a completely different incident. It is. being reported that Clavicular, real. name Braden Peters, has been hit with a. charge in Florida of unlawfully.

discharging a firearm in a public place. or residential property. Now, this for. example is according to court documents. that were obtained by NBC Miami, but. this seems to be in connection to a live. stream where Clavicular and two of his. associates are accused of firing a. handgun at what appears to be and what. has been described at a dead alligator. This reportedly happened at Francis S. Taylor Everglades Wildlife Management. Area, this boat ramp dock on or about.

March 26th. And by the way, due to. YouTube reasons, we can't show the. actual video or videos, but we will show. you some screenshots. Now, both. 20-year-old Clavicular and two other. online personalities, they have been. charged. So, Andrew Morales, 22 years. old, known under his influencer handle. as Cuban Tarzan, and also 26-year-old. Yabdeel Anabal Coto Torres, or Baby. Alien. And by the way, the specific.

charge doesn't indicate that he or his. colleagues physically harmed the. alligator. However, this comes after the. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation. Commission said in March that it was, quote, "aware of a video depicting. individuals in the Everglades on an. airboat who appear to be discharging. firearms at an alligator." And they. apparently launched their own. investigation. Now, our understanding is. that it is illegal under Florida law to. kill or attempt to harm an alligator. without authorization from the.

commission. Now, two sides to every story, right? We're going to get into this a little. bit more. Clavicular's legal team has. come out. So, his attorneys, Stephen. Kramer and Jeffrey Niemann, they made a. statement and it says, quote, "Our. client has been summoned to appear for a. misdemeanor charge that stems from. following the instructions of a licensed. airboat guide. He relied on that. guidance. No animals or people were. harmed. We are confident that once the. full picture is understood, people will. see this for what it is. Now, that's.

interesting, right? So, both kind of, you know, a legal defense and also a PR. defense cuz obviously this is getting a. lot of attention. Arguably, this could. be hurting his reputation in some way. So, two sides to this. You see that many. times with a public figure who's charged. with a crime. Morales' attorney, Richard L. Cooper, also released a statement saying, quote, "We urge the public not to rush to. judgment. Importantly, there is no. allegation that any animal was injured. and the available evidence does not.

support the sensationalized narrative. that is circulated online. My client. relied on information and guidance. provided by those in authority and had. no criminal intent." Now, they're all. scheduled to be arraigned on May 20th. and we'll see if it advances there. But, remember, this comes at a critical time. for Mr. Peters, Clavicula. This comes. after a series of unfortunate alleged. incidents and headlines, right? Clavicula, who has gained quite a. following. According to Instagram, he.

reportedly has almost 600,000 followers, over 145,000 on X, almost 940,000 on. TikTok, over 338,000 on the streaming. platform Kick. This is a guy who. preaches about improving your looks and. ascending, providing more value in that. way. Again, looks maxing. Not only was. he hit with that lawsuit that I. mentioned before, but he's also facing. other charges in Florida. He was. arrested and charged with battery and. criminal conspiracy to commit battery in.

connection with a fight that he. allegedly provoked between two women and. allegedly posted online in what. investigators said was an effort to. exploit these women. He also reportedly. overdosed on a live stream recently and. was taken to the hospital. All right, I. want to break this down. I want to break. down what it could mean for him if the. other incidents I just talked about. could affect this case. So, I want to. bring in John Phillips, victims rights. lawyer, to talk more about this. So, John, thank you so much for taking the. time. How serious is this charge? It's It's pretty serious. It's not. something anybody would want to face,

right? And it seems like prosecutors are. going to take it seriously and and and. push for uh a conviction. But at the end of the day, compared to. some of the things we cover, it is a. misdemeanor of just shooting a gun. essentially in public uh without any. provocation. Well, theoretically, if he's convicted, is it. possible, and I'm going to get more into. the charge, is it possible he could. spend time in jail?

>> [gasps]. >> It Anything's possible, right? That's. the That's the legal answer. I I just I. don't necessarily see it unless he. infuriates. the prosecutors or the judge because it. is a misdemeanor. I I But it's also done. very arrogantly on video as as. everything kind of that follows him. tends to tends to happen. He does have. the other matters going on. He He He is.

a bit of a provocateur. It just depends on the judge wanting to. set a precedent uh and and giving him a. little bit of time to sit in jail and. think about it. Before I get into the. charge, whatever he's accused of doing online or. whatever the other cases may be or if he. is controversial or if he is a. provocateur, that's not going to necessarily. influence a judge's decision, right, to. set an example about like because look, let's be honest, right? What are we.

seeing a lot online? We're seeing. younger people doing all these things, gaining a following. They've been. criticized for it. But even if people. even if a a has a personal belief that. what he's producing is not helpful to. society and that's his you know if. that's the judge's opinion that's not. going to affect the sentence. >> [snorts]. >> I kind of disagree because certainly. it's not it's not going to affect. whether he accepts a plea or or is. convicted, right? That's up to a jury. But when it comes to the sentencing.

itself, think about it. Think about a. sentencing hearing. Again, this is this. is small, you know, sentencing hearing, but there there are other factors which. go into sentencing about the character. of the of the defendant. And and and. again, this is I don't want to make a. mountain out of out of a relative. molehill. Nobody got hurt, right? The. alligator apparently was already dead. But but you can take into.

uh accountability the the the. the nature this will have on other. people. And and you know, one of a good. judge would say, "Part of my job here. sitting on this bench is to deter crime. And if I let you just walk away, how. have I deterred crime? In fact, I'm. encouraging crime. I'm encouraging. others to follow in your footsteps. So, sir, we're going to give you a week in. jail." I I think that's how that would. play out, but it but it can come in in.

Florida when it comes to ultimately a. judge's discretion and it's deciding a. sentence. Let me go into the actual statute and I. want to talk about how they might prove. that. Um so, and correct me, I think. this is the the correct one, 790.15. Uh it says except as provided in these. different subsections, any person who. knowingly discharges a firearm in any. public place or in the right-of-way of. any paved public road, highway, or. street who knowingly discharges any.

firearm over the right-of-way of any. paved public road, highway, or street or. over any occupied premises premises or. who recklessly or negligently discharges. a firearm outdoors on any property used. primarily as the site of a dwelling. uh or zoned exclusively for residential. use, commits a misdemeanor of the first. degree. This section does not apply to a. person lawfully defending life or. property or performing official duties. requiring the discharge of a firearm or. to a person discharging a firearm on.

public roads or properties expressly. approved for hunting by the Fish and. Wildlife Conservation Commission or. Florida Forest Service. What does that. mean to you? Is it very straightforward. to prove this? And let's go back to it. How important is that purported video. laying this out or allegedly laying this. out? The video is absolutely important. Uh and and so is one line in that video, and that's "Can we dump a round into.

it?" Right? That shows intent. That. shows I'm going to fire this gun not. because I have to, but because I want. to. And certainly it it. if you're out hunting with a license, that's one thing, but getting a boat. captain, an airboat captain at that, to. give you permission means nothing under. Florida law. Wait, so so let's talk. about that. Cuz you saw the lawyers the. you saw the lawyer's statement, right? The lawyer's statement said he was. relying on the guidance of of this guy.

Uh that's not a defense. It's not a. defense. So so if I have a chauffeur in. a car and I say, "Can I, you know, can I. shoot my gun out the window?" and he. says, "Sure, why not?" Well, well, wait. a minute. Wait a minute. Isn't the. >> [laughter]. >> Of course you're you're in a Okay, different, right? You're on the highway, you should know better. If you're in this specific area of. Florida, which not everybody's been to, and you're being driven out there on. this tour, and they're like, "Yeah, you. can you can fire out there." Isn't it a. little different?

No, ignorance of the law is no excuse. And and and you know, that's what the. whole meat of the case is going to be is. is is arguing that can I dump a round. into it? Sure is some sort of tantamount. license and it's not. And and the. Florida law is pretty clear on that that. it that he wouldn't otherwise. be able to give consent to break the. law. And I'll tell you something else, you know, people know that I represented. Joe Exotic and got into the Carole.

Baskin world and I've I've dealt with a. lot of tigers and and a lot of things. Florida wildlife. does not mess around. Like they are one. of the most stern Oklahoma probably. number one as we learned, but but you. know, state and federal wildlife. agents take these things very seriously. And and their law enforcement officers. are going to be the ones explaining why.

a airboat captain can't give consent on. how to use firearms just. for your own purpose to dump a round. into it into a a dead animal. Could he if he's being brought up on. this charge and you know, saying I was. relying can can he file a lawsuit? I. mean anybody can file a lawsuit, but. would he have a legitimate claim against. the airboat captain, the company there? Um, you know what I'm saying? I do know what you're saying and and if.

he called what I take it, this is kind. of how I'm I'm looking and I I you know, I do love a celebrity case every now and. again. I I don't think so because you're. looking at kind of the false arrest, malicious prosecution, um, negligent giving of advice that led me. to be arrested and prosecuted. for what damages? Ultimately, your. attorney's fees, I guess. Um, >> Harm to his reputation. I don't know. I. mean he's getting. It's not the only ones reporting this. It's like in almost every I think the.

New York Times even published it. >> I just I I well, you know, Law & Crime. is the thought leader in in America. Just prudence, but but um New York Times. Um but I just I I mean, you can sue for. anything and you can certainly do a. demand letter, but I. I I have a feeling that that's not going. to you know, going to go very far. And I. I don't think it fits his style either, you know, filing filing that lawsuit um.

isn't very looks maxing, you know, it it. you'd want to win it. You'd want to. you'd be like, "Oh, haha, I got away. with it. Ultimately, I didn't even have. to go to jail." Like I don't think he. practically would, but certainly if he. called, I'd take his call and think. about it. Well, look, his lawyers and. and this other individual's lawyers. released statements looking like they're. going to fight it. So, you you mean you. say maybe not looks maxing, you know, try to say I did nothing wrong. Where do. you think this goes? Do you think that. they move forward towards a trial and.

and mount a defense? And what would that. defense look like? I I I again, I I do. think you're going to have to argue a. level of of licensing because. the video shows the the crime. And and. it it and again, it's coupled with. intent of. uh and I'm looking at my note again, can. we dump a round into it? I I just I. don't know how you get out of that. I. don't think the the fact that the. alligator was dead or alive matters. whatsoever cuz it's not killing or.

harming wildlife, it's it's just. discharging the firearm here. Um. and. ultimately. I I just think the prosecutors are going. to make an offer that he can't refuse. Um you know, make a donation to whatever. cause or or. you know, just just get past it. But. right now, this is the. this is the hot thing and they're not. going to let it go while it's while. it's, you know, being reported. So, in.

other words, you say there's a. possibility they could work on some sort. of plea deal and maybe not get any jail. time or something, you know, probation, maybe. you know, community service, a fine. What about the other cases? Those other. I mentioned, you know, there's you put. the lawsuit to the side, but that other. those other misdemeanor charges he's. facing, can that factor into this case. at all? Yeah, I'm looking at it. It looks like a. battery warrant from Osceola was already. active. Allegedly that he instigated. this fight between two women and. recorded it. Right. And and that's.

like I've got I've got a 14, 11, and. 8-year-old. So, I'm I'm a little bit on. that periphery. I know the 67 of the. world, you know, but I but I'm not I'm. not into this guy particularly. Um, you know, I'm more into the Steve-O, Joe. Exotic era of things as this age maybe. But. but it anytime you're a reckless. individual, even if it's for views, there's going to be prosecutors and. police that don't want you or and. government agents that don't want you in.

their city and feel like they've got a. set of standard. And that's that's long. been the case with, you know, hard. rockers and rappers that that have that. have found themselves in trouble, but. now we're we've got this, you know, level of influencer. and it's one thing if you're you're Jake. Paul or you're you're Mr. Beast and. you're not really harming anybody. It's. another when when taunting and bullying. is your is your is your is your social.

media influence. He would probably counter that and say. he's trying to help people, but then I'm. not his lawyer. I'm not his but that I. think that he would say he was trying to. help people. Let me ask you this. Is it. possible there could be any other. charges? Because, you know, I said at. the beginning it's not directly related. to the gator, right? I mean, is there. anything else that he could be charged. with with respect to this alleged. incident? The one thing that I was I was. trying to figure out this morning. looking at this is. you know, they're charging him with just.

a firearm in a public space. And I believe that area was a level of a. a protected park, right? After the. Everglades kind of place, I think. And I was wondering if there might be a. heightened state or federal charge. because you're essentially discharging a. firearm in a park. uh on government land. Um that that was. the the thing this morning literally. sitting in criminal court down in. Jacksonville Duval County.

Uh reading about it thinking is there is. there an upcharge here? But FWC, Florida. Wildlife, tends to be pretty aggressive. Uh. so I I just assume that this is where. they're headed. First of all, I'm very flattered that. while you're in court, you're thinking. of Jesse Weber Sidebar. The judge says. to you, "Uh Mr. Phillips, what. You didn't answer my question." Sorry, thinking thinking about Jesse Weber. Um. that's fine. I think that would be a. good defense as it's a Judge Salem would.

have loved that and and said tell him. hello, I'm sure. I'm sure. Uh thank you. so much. It's interesting look, it's an. interesting development. that we spoke about him recently with. respect to his lawsuit. We'll see where. this develops, but always appreciate you. taking the time, John. Thank you. My. pleasure. It's all we have for you right now here. on Sidebar. Thank you so much for. joining us and as always, please. subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should get your. podcast. You can also check us out on. NBC's Peacock as well. If you want to. follow me, X, Instagram, my NewsNation. show, Jesse Weber Live, Monday through.

Friday, 11:00 p.m. [music] Eastern. I'll. see you next time, everybody. >> Mhm.