Invisible Children Co-Founder Jason Russell detained for public drunkenness and masturbation, says report

By: Casey Glynn
Topics: Daily Blotter

Jason Russell, a co-founder of Invisible Children, speaks at the Invisible Children's 'How It Ends' rally at The Ellipse on June 23, 2009 in Washington DC.

/ Kris Connor/Getty Images

(CBS) - San Diego police say Jason Russell, a co-founder of activist group Invisible Children and one of the creators of the "Kony 2012" video, was detained Thursday night in Pacific Beach after he was allegedly found masturbating in public and possibly under the influence of alcohol, according to NBC San Diego.

According to the station, police say they received calls around 11:30 a.m. reporting that a man running through traffic and screaming, while in "various stages of undress."

Officers say when they arrived on the scene the film maker was cooperative, NBC San Diego reports.

The marketing campaign is an effort by Invisible Children to vastly increase awareness about a jungle militia leader who is wanted for atrocities by the International Criminal Court. He is also being hunted by 100 U.S. Special Forces advisers and local troops in four Central African countries.

The "Kony 2012" video, about the atrocities carried out by Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army went viral, drawing nearly 80 million views on YouTube. The controversial video put Kony in the international spotlight, but also drew disapproval from critics who say the video oversimplified the conflict.

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by dvanheld March 30, 2012 1:17 PM EDT: That is too bad someone has to humiliate themselves to promote awareness for his video. Alcohol influences this country way too much.; Reply to this comment

by Ben_sMom March 19, 2012 10:21 AM EDT

Is it possible the man has been drugged or poisoned? There are some fairly aggressive people after him, so this may be something major.

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by rawoods62 March 19, 2012 1:02 PM EDT: The whole facade of this exaggeration he is selling to the public RE: kony 2012 has caught up with him and the stress is to much for him. If you still believe this hype do yourself a favor research the subject don't be a sheepl and get caught up in the Facebook moron movement.


by geoh777 March 20, 2012 8:34 PM EDT: I've seen it happen. A friend of mine went to a class graduation party where there was a punch bowl. I ended up bailing him out of jail in the middle of the night. He had broken into a strange house and gone to sleep in the owner's bed, bleeding all over the sheets and blankets from the cuts on his hands. This was completely out of character for him as he was one of the quietest and nicest persons I have ever known. This was in 1965. I think the spike-the-punchbowl thing is known now.


by lillyhorton March 17, 2012 8:35 PM EDT: Conspiracy theory. What if he was injected with a drug that caused him to lose his inhabitions. The US government experimented on people in the 50's and 60's that did just that. Why? to defame his character. Killing him would draw too much attention to what he was finding out. Making him appear stupid or over sexed himself draws attention away from KONY 2012. This drug is probably used to get kids to behave sexually as they are used as sex slaves.; Reply to this comment


by cosmic-teapot March 17, 2012 7:31 PM EDT: It's interesting that there does not appear to be a single person commenting who believes in 'innocent until proven guilty'. Hey, someone accused him of doing it, so he must have! Why bother having a judicial system at all?; Reply to this comment


by nojoy01 March 17, 2012 12:55 PM EDT: It does make one wonder how many "invisible children" are in his closet?; Reply to this comment


by Transatlantique March 17, 2012 12:30 PM EDT: Why don't I ever get to see these things happen before my eyes?; Reply to this comment


by symbolset March 17, 2012 2:13 AM EDT: When you dust a guy to make him babble and discredit himself you're not supposed to dose him so hard it's obvious he's been poisoned.; Reply to this comment

by moretruthnow March 16, 2012 7:49 PM EDT

A disgusting behavior. Drunk is no excuse for being a pervert. I am not very familiar with this group but this man is not all there.

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by Transatlantique March 17, 2012 12:27 PM EDT: What, masturbation is a "disgusting behaviour"? Are you telling me you have never masturbated? If you meant in public, then that's stating the obvious. However, masturbating in private is not "being a pervert." One would have to be on drugs or drink to do it in public, and even then a bit mentally disturbed. You could have simply stated that he is a troubled man and that would have been enough.