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A group of self-described “First Amendment auditors” set up their cameras outside local businesses in downtown Menlo Park on Sunday, triggering complaints to the police and an altercation with a passerby.
On March 29, several people wearing black T-shirts and cowboy hats who are affiliated with the YouTube channels iiMPACT MEDIA and True North Transparency stood outside Ace Hardware and Draeger’s Market to record passersbys on the sidewalks. Videos posted to the channels and a report from the Menlo Park Police Department confirm that around 12:30 p.m., one of the videographers pepper-sprayed a man during an argument outside Ace Hardware.
The group’s filming unsettled customers and employees, according to the hardware store’s manager. The police department received several calls about the group throughout the day.
“It really felt like they were trying to steer up any emotion to get engagement from people, employees or staffers, just simply for the sake of creating content,” said the manager, who was on duty at the time and is not being named due to safety concerns.
Police spokesperson Nicole Acker said officers responded to reports of the pepper spray incident, but the auditors involved had left before police arrived. Investigators are working to identify those responsible and determine whether the use of pepper spray constitutes a crime.
The video posted by iiMPACT MEDIA on March 30, titled “Unhinged Man Attacks & Gets Sauced,” shows a man outside of Ace Hardware telling a member of the group brandishing a canister of pepper spray, “Spray that s—t and I’ll f—k you,” right before the auditor discharged pepper spray into his face.
Canada-based True North Transparency posted the interaction from a different angle. It did not respond to a request for comment.
Other scenes in the video show the group filming pedestrians and saying things like “I just need a picture of your face.” While some people walked by, others asked that the group delete videos. The video also includes scenes shot at an Orange County hospital parking lot.
The Ace manager said employees felt harassed as the group filmed them through the windows and antagonized shoppers. When he asked the auditors to stop filming, he said they refused and joked about creating “3D scans of people’s faces to use in AI movies.”
The police told him there was little they could do since the group was on a public sidewalk.
“People were really yelling and we started to get concerned that a fight might come into the building,” the manager said. “My employees were uncomfortable because they were being filmed, and then just seeing the customers’ discomfort.”
The manager said he views the experience as a lesson.
“Try to keep your composure and ideally, try not to engage. I think they get to create content and monetize based on your emotional reaction. Just understand that your frustration is just simply a way for them to monetize,” he said. “I think of it as a more advanced or more modern way of begging.”
The First Amendment protects the right to film in most public places but there are limits to the use of that footage in commercial applications.
So-called First Amendment auditors go to various public places and “audit” the public and government’s response while they claim they are exercising their rights. These videos can rack up millions of views on sites like YouTube. iiMPACT MEDIA has been posting to its channel since December 2022 and has over 100 million views across more than 2,000 videos.
Acker said that while filming in public itself is not illegal, interfering with services, blocking access or engaging in threatening or harassing behavior can be. She said people can call Menlo Park police’s non-emergency line at 650‑330‑6300 if any conduct becomes unsafe or disruptive.
“If community members encounter someone filming, the best approach is to remain calm, avoid engaging if you prefer not to be recorded, and simply continue with your business,” Acker said.
Several locals said the group’s actions clearly crossed a line.
“They were basically getting in front of people as they walked into the store with these cameras, trying to provoke them in some fashion and obstruct their shopping,” said Redwood City-based attorney Andrew Watters, who witnessed the scene outside Draeger’s.
In a video Watters recorded, one “auditor” can be heard threatening to pepper spray him if he approached. “There were people in the store who were genuinely severely distressed by this,” Watters said. “The guy has his hand on this canister, and was showing it to me and saying, ‘I’m gonna mace the s–t out of you.’”
In Watters’ video, two auditors argue with him while a third hides behind a trash can. As Watters films him, the man holds his hat in front of his face and backs away.
Watters said he called Menlo Park’s police’s non-emergency line and later filed a formal police report but said he felt discouraged by the response.
“I was not doing anything illegal or threatening, I was simply moving the camera around to get clear images of their faces, with both of my hands visible and holding the phone. I was at least 6‑8 feet away from them at all times,” Watters wrote in an email to police Chief David Norris. “These bizarre interactions were inconsistent with the safe, comfortable environment that Menlo Park is known for.”
According to public records, iiMPACT MEDIA is based in Spring Valley in Southern California and registered to Conrad Rankin. The channel does not list contact information, but it has been linked to other public disputes, including a brawl at a Brentwood post office in Los Angeles County that left one man hospitalized and three arrested, according to news reports.
