Social media influencer Liver King has been arrested and charged with making alleged “terroristic threats” against Joe Rogan, Austin’s KXAN reports. The 47-year-old born Brian Johnson shared a series of Instagram videos earlier this week in which he challenged the podcaster to a 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. “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.”
“On Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at approximately 9:30 a.m., Austin Police Department (APD) detectives were notified that a subject identified as Brian Johnson, known online as ‘Liver King’, had made threats against Joe Rogan on his Instagram profile,” the Austin Police Department shared in a statement to Rolling Stone. “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.”
Johnson was taken into custody at a Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, June 24. The videos he posted were shared consistently from Monday, June 23 into June 24. “This remains an active investigation,” the police department said.
According to documents from the Travis County Jail, Johnson now faces one Class B Misdemeanor charge of Terroristic Threat Causing Fear of Imminent SBI. He is being held on $20,000 bond.
According to the Texas-based Keates Law Firm website, which bears no known association to Johnson, a Terroristic Threat Causing Fear of Imminent SBI charge generally relates to threats “to commit any offense involving violence with intent to place a person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury,” or “places the public or a substantial group of the public in fear of serious bodily injury.”
According to the Austin Police Department via KXAN, Rogan told detectives he “had never had any interaction with Johnson and considered the posts to be threatening” when they contacted him. Johnson did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
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In 2022, Rogan accused Johnson of using steroids. “There’s no way you can look like that in your 40s,” Rogan said at the time. “I mean, he’s preposterously jacked.” Later that year, Johnson admitted to steroid use. “I’m here now to set the record straight,” Johnson said in his video addressing the matter. “Yes, I’ve done steroids, and yes, I’m on steroids, monitored and managed by a trained hormone clinician. Liver King, the public figure, was an experiment to spread the message.”
Last month, Netflix’s popular sports documentary series Untold released Untold: The Liver King, exploring the creation of Johnson’s digital empire. “We live in a time when someone can reach hundreds of millions of people without going through any kind of traditional gatekeeping. No background checks. Just a phone and a guy,” director Joe Pearlman said when announcing the film. “And when shock and outrage get views, what are you willing, or even able, to keep doing to stay at the top of the algorithm?”
From Rolling Stone US
