Disgraced fitness influencer “Liver King” was arrested in Texas after traveling to the hometown of podcaster Joe Rogan to challenge him to a fight.
Brian Johnson, 47, known to followers as the “Liver King,” faces a misdemeanor charge of making a terroristic threat and was booked into the Travis County Jail in Austin Tuesday night, records show.
Johnson, who gained over 6 million followers promoting an “ancestral lifestyle” of consuming immeasurable amounts of raw meat, was taken into custody in Austin, where Rogan lives, sources confirmed to KXAN.
Concerning footage shared on Johnson’s social media shows him challenging Rogan, a UFC commentator, to fight.
“Joe Rogan, I’m calling you out, my name’s Liver King. Man to man, I’m picking a fight with you,” he said in a video shared on Monday.
“I have no training in Jiu-jitsu; you’re a black belt, you should dismantle me. But I’m picking a fight with you. Your rules, I’ll come to you whenever you’re ready,” Johnson said.
Several videos shared on the account capture the moments leading up to Johnson’s arrest. Johnson, wearing a burgundy sweatsuit and a tactical vest, can be seen pacing around the room while he talks about going to prison and fighting Rogan.
Footage also shows an officer patting him down while he is in handcuffs. Johnson was then led to an unmarked police car. In the footage, a member of Jonhson’s team appears to tell his wife that Johnson may have to spend up to 24 hours in jail.
He was being held on a $20,000 bond, although it was not immediately clear if he was still in custody as of Wednesday morning.
Austin police told The Independent they were notified Tuesday that Johnson “had made threats against Joe Rogan on his Instagram profile. Detectives reviewed the posts and observed that Johnson was traveling to Austin while continuing to make threatening statements.”
“Detectives contacted Mr. Rogan, who stated he had never had any interaction with Johnson and considered the posts to be threatening. Based on this information, detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Johnson on a charge of Terroristic Threat,” police said.
He was taken into custody without incident, police added. He was being held on a $20,000 bond, although it was not immediately clear if he was still in custody as of Wednesday morning.
While Rogan has never hosted Johnson on his podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience, he has discussed the influencer’s steroid use.
Rogan had criticized Johnson for claiming he gained his chiseled physique by following an “ancestral” diet of raw meat and unprocessed organs, including livers.
Johnson had denied having used steroids until 2022, when a leak of his emails revealed he had spent over $11,000 a month on steroids to achieve his look. He faced a $25 million lawsuit from enraged customers who accused him of fraud and deception, but this was ultimately dropped, according to Mail Online.
Johnson was also the subject of the Netflix documentary “Untold: The Liver King,” which came out earlier this year.
