A man from Pennsylvania has been arrested after he placed stickers on gas station pumps depicting Joe Biden along with the phrase "I did that" to protest his belief that the president is solely responsible for soaring fuel prices.
Thomas Richard Glazewski, 54, was arrested on 31 March after he was tackled by police at a convenience store in East Hempfield Township, according to Lancaster Online.
He had allegedly been placing the “I did that” stickers on fuel pumps when he was noticed by police.
The stickers have become a popular conservative protest against Mr Biden. The protesters - influenced by right-wing media and Republican lawmakers - blame the president for current gas prices.
In reality, demand for gas spiked as Americans returned to work and states rolled back pandemic-restrictions. OPEC's oil production did not keep up with demand, further driving up costs, which were again exacerbated by sanctions placed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. Gas prices are also high in Europe, where Mr Biden is notably not president.
Even so, the stickers remain popular. Mr Glazewski was confronted by local police while he was placing stickers on the pumps. He had reportedly been using clear coat to make it more difficult for gas station workers to remove the stickers. His confrontation with police escalated into a shouting match, which was caught on video.
In the footage, Mr Glazewski can be seen shouting at officers and flailing around the the gas station, at one point running up to a pump and yelling "I did that. I did that. That's what I did" and then prancing past an officer before allegedly trying to escape on foot.
An officer chased Mr Glazewski and tackled him in the middle of the parking lot.
Later, police are trying to force Mr Glazewski into the backseat of their cruiser, but he can be seen resisting arrest. Officers claim he suffered "self inflicted injuries" while they were trying to place him in the vehicle.
He has been charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, harassment and criminal mischief. His first hearing is 26 April. At the time of his arrest, Mr Glazewski was serving two years probation after pleading guilty in 2020 to retail theft. That was the third time he had been convicted and sentenced to probation for retail theft, according to court documents.
