Ohio ‘influencer’ charged after incident at Pittsburgh Zoo

(WKBN) – An Ohio man who markets himself as a social media influencer is facing felony charges after police say he jumped a fence leading to an elephant enclosure at the Pittsburgh Zoo.

Nineteen year-old Noah Thomas, of Austintown, is accused of sneaking into the zoo and then entering into an elephant enclosure, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday. Police say the elephant charged at Thomas, ramming its gate and trying to strike Thomas with its trunk. Thomas reportedly jumped out of the enclosure to escape the animal.

Video posted to an Instagram page under the name “justnoah.t” and titled “professional gate jumper. Almost elephant food,” shows the incident. The video was posted on Sept. 22 and was also cited in the criminal complaint as the account belonging to Thomas.

The same account shows several other videos of the man conducting interviews in the Youngstown area, as well as going into a Dollar General, where a car crashed into the building last month, before he was ordered to leave by a manager.

Police say that at the time the video at the Pittsburgh Zoo was recorded, there were about 25 or more adults and children in the elephant barn, and several of those people reported the incident to staff at the zoo.

Security found Thomas and a woman who was with him in the zoo’s aquarium. They were reportedly escorted out after providing investigators with the license plate of the vehicle that they left in, the report stated.

Thomas is charged with causing or risking catastrophe, criminal trespass and conspiracy, third-degree felony charges; recklessly endangering another person and cruelty to animals, second-degree misdemeanors; and theft of services.

The complaint states that Thomas’ actions caused risk of injury or death to not only himself but also other zoo staff and patrons.

Court records do not list a court date for Thomas.