This Unpopular Teen Got Revenge - The Story of Brandon Hole

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Ray William Johnson: True Story Podcast 8 min 2 speakers 3 chapters transcribed

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What are the early signs of Brandon Hole's mental health issues?

Ray William Johnson 0:00

Remember when that My Little Pony fan went insane and he murdered a bunch of people? So the story all starts with this guy, Brandon. And Brandon is 18 when all this begins, living in Indianapolis, and the dude has a problem. Actually, he has a lot of problems. He has some mental health issues. He's dropped out of school, he doesn't have any friends, so he's always isolated. In fact, one of the only things he seems to show interest in is the cartoon show My Little Pony. He loves My Little Pony. He watches all the episodes, his whole bedroom is decorated with My Little Pony stuff. This is an actual picture of his bedroom and you can see how he's got it all set up. And that's fine and all, you know, people like what they like.

Ray William Johnson 0:48

But Brandon likes My Little Pony to the point of delusion. Specifically, he appears to be in love with the character Applejack. He feels like he has a deep personal connection with her.

How did Brandon's obsession with My Little Pony escalate?

Ray William Johnson 1:00

He often refers to her as his wife. And if that isn't concerning enough, one day in 2020, Brandon really starts to go off the deep end. Because that is when he goes to a local army surplus store and he buys himself a shotgun. And during this time, he still lives at home with his mom, who we'll just call mom. And because Brandon lives at home with his mom, she finds out about the shotgun and she freaks the hell out. Mostly because, like I said, he's got a history of mental health issues. Like he's been arrested before for battery. He used to get suspended from school for fighting. The dude has got some violent tendencies. So of course she questions his motives for buying the gun. And Brendan straight up tells her that he plans to point it at police so that they shoot back at him and kill him.

Ray William Johnson 1:55

So he apparently wants to unalive himself via cop. So this, without a doubt, freaks mom out even more. Then he gets super pissed off and he like punches her in the arm hard. So poor mom has no other choice. She goes to police and she tells them, my son just bought a shotgun and he's threatening to point it at cops so that they shoot him. And police actually hear her out and they go over to her house where Brandon is to check on him. And when they get there, he immediately starts acting anxious. And the officers ask him where the shotgun is, and he says it's upstairs, but he tells them that if they go up there, they need to turn off his computer so that no one sees what's on it. And I'm sure that makes them very suspicious.

Ray William Johnson 2:43

So of course, when one of the officers goes upstairs to retrieve the shotgun, they see what's on Brandon's computer screen. Some neo-yahtzee propaganda websites. Which is not technically illegal, but it's also not a good look. Then police sees his shotgun. And they detain Brandon and they take him to a local hospital to make him get a psychiatric evaluation. So he gets the evaluation and somehow Brandon is able to convince the doctors there that there's nothing wrong with him and that he isn't a danger to himself or others. I mean, I guess this works because within two hours they declare you're fine and they let him go. Now, at some point, local police contact the FBI, and they tell them to keep an eye on this kid with mental health issues who just bought a gun who has a bunch of neo-yahtzee stuff on his computer.

Ray William Johnson 3:40

Because, you know, they think he might be radicalized. So the FBI starts investigating Brandon. And about a month later, they come over to his mom's house to question him because they want to see if he's actually a threat. So they're there and they're talking to him. And it's there that Brandon randomly mentions that maybe one day he could join law enforcement. And one of the FBI agents is like, let me stop you right there. And the agent lets him know that it's probably not going to be an option for him. Because, you know, the neo-yahtzee stuff on his computer. And by the time the interview is done, an agent tells Brandon's mom that he shows all the signs of a mass shooter. but that he also hasn't committed any crimes.

Ray William Johnson 4:26

So they can't just like arrest him for nothing.