Ben Schneider Charged With Stalking, Bricks And Minifigs Stock
Bricks and minifigs stock sits at the center of a March criminal case after American Fork police charged YouTube creator Ben Schneider with stalking and targeted residential picketing. Police say the dispute moved from a viral Lego theft allegation to repeated calls from a store owner and then to two misdemeanor charges.
March 9 calls to Johnson
Four case numbers followed calls from Josh Johnson to American Fork police from March 9 through March 12, according to Police Chief Cameron Paul. The department decided twice to arrest Schneider, who is known on YouTube as Reckless Ben, after Johnson called police multiple times as Schneider sent people to talk to him.
Schneider traveled to American Fork to help Bryan Mansell, who said his family's Lego collection had been stolen by Bricks and Minifigs, a Utah-based Lego resell company. The videos say Mansell left the collection at an Oregon franchise under a consignment agreement, then lost the money and the Legos after corporate took over the store and gave it to a new owner based in American Fork.
Schneider's March 27 charges
On March 27, Schneider was charged with stalking, a class A misdemeanor, and targeted residential picketing, a class B misdemeanor. Paul said the department's role was to enforce Utah law rather than decide what was morally right in the business agreement, and he said the department was not to be read as validating, supporting or defending anyone involved in the dispute.
Schneider's response was public and combative. In a video released on Saturday, he said, "I am trying to have a good faith conversation and serve papers as required by Oregon court to start a lawsuit." He also placed large banners about the alleged theft over the company's sign, delivered an award to the store for most Legos stolen, filed multiple small-claims court lawsuits and created a satirical company called We Steal From Old People.
Paul's warning to online viewers
The broader dispute has grown past one store and one police department. Paul said Schneider's videos were "presented in a way that calls into question some of the actions of our department." He also said, "The fact that someone may have believed they were wronged financially does not exempt any individual from the laws governing harassment, trespassing, stalking or other conduct within our jurisdiction. We remain committed to enforcing the law fairly, objectively and transparently regardless of who was involved or what narrative might exist," and added that people frustrated by the Oregon allegations should not read the arrest as an endorsement of either side.
A fundraiser Schneider set up for Mansell had already earned over $250,000, which shows how far the dispute had spread before the charges landed. For anyone following the case, the practical point is simple: the fight over the alleged missing Lego collection is now a police matter in Utah, and the criminal case sits with the two misdemeanors filed against Schneider on March 27.
