Minnesota Man Found Guilty on All 16 Counts of Animal Crushing for Filming Animal Torture Videos for Profit
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota announced on November 10 that a federal jury on November 9 found Bryan Wesley Edison, of Carver, Minnesota, guilty of all 16 counts of animal crushing, following a federal trial before U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim. His sentencing hearing is set for March 3, 2027.
Edison was originally indicted by a federal grand jury on September 4, 2025. He faces up to seven years in prison on each count and a maximum fine of $250,000.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, beginning on or before July 30, 2022, and continuing until at least October 19, 2023, Edison purposely caused serious bodily injury to animals, filmed himself doing so, and posted the videos to the internet. He placed smaller live animals with a large, exotic reptile for the reptile to attack and sometimes eat, and the animals suffered prolonged torture and death through drowning, crushing, and being dismembered alive. The video-hosting website ultimately removed each of his channels for violations of its policy on violence.
Prosecutors said Edison posted some videos on the free version of his channels and offered more violent videos on paid versions ranging from $0.99 to $99.99, with the highest-priced membership offering a choose-your-own-scenario option. He received at least $1,500 in payments through the website.
In 2019, the President signed the overhauled and expanded crush video statute under the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, which made it illegal to purposely crush, burn, drown, suffocate, impale, or otherwise subject living mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians to serious bodily injury, with exceptions including hunting, fishing, slaughtering animals for food, euthanasia, medical or scientific research, and normal animal husbandry. The jury found none of those exceptions applied to Edison's conduct.
"The defendant tried to make a profit and took pleasure in torturing defenseless animals. His actions were inhumane and illegal, and with this guilty verdict, my office is delivering justice," said U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen. Christopher D. Dotson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Minneapolis Field Office, said the crimes were the documentation of cruelty for cruelty's sake, and that such videos cause serious psychological harm to those who consume the content as well as needless suffering to the animals.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeanne Semivan and Campbell Warner are prosecuting the case.
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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