A TikToker is claiming that his parole officer is repeatedly calling him at work, sparking outrage on the platform. The video from user Jeremey “Mohawk” Johnson (@technojail) shows an officer calling his ankle monitor, only to have him ask why they’re repeatedly calling him when he has movement authorization.
Johnson’s video currently has over 469,000 views.
For context, ankle monitors are occasionally given to people on probation or parole, who are sentenced to house arrest, or who are simply awaiting trial. These monitors will provide GPS and other data to authorities to ensure that the person wearing the monitor is following the terms of their sentence.
As is visible in the video, some ankle monitors are equipped with microphones and speakers. This allows parole officers or other relevant parties to call the wearer to check in, ask questions, and ensure they are following protocol.
However, as this TikTok shows, these frequent calls can be a disturbance in one’s life and harm their ability to make a living.
In comments, TikTokers were largely sympathetic to Johnson’s plight. Many argued that these repeated interruptions could put Johnson at risk of losing his job.
“They’re trying to get you fired on Purpose,” alleged a commenter. “Same thing happened to my buddy—he told the judge ‘I’d rather be in jail then deal with this.’”
“Why do I feel like they’re trying to embarrass you?” asked another.
“Just think they turn that on and listen to your private conversations. Maybe they heard something and that’s why they keep trying to get you. Bugged!” wrote a third user. According to law firm Suhre & Associates, LLC, this is a technical possibility, but it has not been proven in practice.
Johnson has been documenting his journey under house arrest with work allowances for over a year on both TikTok and Instagram. Along with incidents like the one documented in the above TikTok, Johnson has shared multiple accounts of his ankle monitor informing officers he had left his approved area. In fact, as many videos prove, he was actually in his living room.
Johnson was initially arrested after participating in a Black Lives Matter and Defund ICE protest in August 2020.
“I thought that they were gonna kill me… I hadn’t been Mirandized. I wasn’t even told why I was under arrest,” he told the Chicago Reader in March of 2021. “Four to five officers grabbed me and held me against the car before they handcuffed me, and didn’t tell me why. They kept yelling, ‘Don’t struggle, stop struggling.’ I said, ‘I’m not struggling, I’m just confused as to why I’m being arrested…”
Eventually, Johnson was charged with battery after officers alleged he struck one of them with a skateboard.
This allegation has come under intense scrutiny by both Johnson’s peers and outlets like the South Side Weekly, who claim that video evidence shows officers instigating the conflict.
“…The confrontation appeared to have began when multiple police charged into the crowd to attack other protesters,” they report. “When the officers retreated, no one followed or attempted to continue the confrontation.”
For his part, Johnson claims that the charges against him were trumped up, claiming that he was actually arrested for simply protesting. He also makes efforts to note that he is still in pretrial.
“I haven’t been convicted of anything. I am in pretrial for going to a Black Lives Matter and a Defund ICE protest,” he says in a TikTok. After he was initially arrested, the Chicago Reader notes that the court’s pretrial public safety assessment of Johnson had recommended “he be released with no conditions.”
Despite this, he was given an ankle monitor as well as forbidden from skateboarding and owning a skateboard.
Until his trial, Johnson will use his platform to document the monitored reality that many Americans in the criminal justice system face—illuminating the experience for TikTokers around the world.
Johnson did not immediately respond to Daily Dot’s request for comment via TikTok comment and Instagram DM.
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