Iowa trooper shared suspicions about possible Google threat

ADAIR, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa State Patrol trooper is being hailed for good police work in warning California law officers about a possible threat to Google headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Mountain View, California, police say 33-year-old Kyle Long, of Waterville, Maine, was upset because his YouTube channel had been shut down. He allegedly told his hometown police that he’d get violent if his Google confrontation didn’t go well. Google owns YouTube.

Mountain View police arrested Long on Sunday on suspicion of making criminal threats. It’s unclear whether he has an attorney.

Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Nathan Ludwig told Des Moines television station KCCI that trooper Ryan Zenor talked to Long on Friday while Long’s car was being towed from a ditch he’d slid into along Interstate 80 about 53 miles (86 kilometers) west of Des Moines. Ludwig says Zenor grew suspicious as Long talked about his plan to pitch an idea to Google executives.

Ludwig says Zenor called the Mountain View police after his encounter with Long, shared his concerns and told them Long was headed their way.