Wyoming Police Department: Many TikTok Challenges Are Crimes

The Rock Springs Police Department is warning people that a series of upcoming challenges on TikTok are crimes and says it will prosecute people who commit vandalism or other crimes that are incited by the challenges.

That's according to a post on the RSPD Facebook page. According to the post, recent vandalism incidents in Sweetwater County School District#1 have caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to district buildings and disrupted the learning environment for students in the district. Sweetwater District#1 is not the only Wyoming school district where vandalism sparked by posts on TikTok have been reported.

The principal of Johnson Jr. High in Cheyenne recently expressed similar concerns, saying of the vandalism ''We've got to stop this." Similar incidents have been reported in Colorado schools.

According to the Rock Springs Police Department post, there may be more vandalism to come with future TikTok challenges:

RSPD has also learned there are several more trends through July 2022 called TikTok Challenges, which have different challenges every month that appear to be targeted at schools, staff, and students. RSPD would like to inform parents a majority of the challenges are crimes and the RSPD will thoroughly investigate all incidents and those responsible will be held responsible in the court of law. Incidents on school campuses may also lead to school disciplinary action against students responsible and students associated with the crimes.

Former President Donald Trump at one point tried to ban TikTok on the grounds that the company posed a security threat because of ties to China but was unsuccessful. Trump issued an executive order

President Biden dropped the effort to ban the company in the United States.