India, April 12 -- What started off as a request to gain acceptance in the online community has turned into a criminal and civil issue. Richard Maza, a 51-year-old Californian YouTube personality has been arrested by the police after he allegedly pepper sprayed an unsuspecting shopper outside of a Costco store.

As per authorities, the act was part of a stunt to increase the number of views on his channel. The event has prompted backlash from many quarters and revived discussions regarding the morality of so-called prank content. Maza, for his antics, landed in trouble with the law and in court.

Maza has a YouTube channel and describes himself as a First Amendment auditor. His channel is titled Freedom of the Press and its apparent role ...