The Potter County Sheriff’s Office was made aware of a potential threat made towards multiple juveniles associated with the Bushland ISD in connection with the current “Cat in the Hat” TikTok trend, which began as a dark-humor meme using clips of the character from the 2003 movie and has evolved into an AI-generated horror/hoax trend. Users are creating realistic-looking images and videos depicting the Cat in the Hat lurking around homes, neighborhoods, schools, and other locations, sometimes claiming he is “coming to” a specific community next.
Several interviews were conducted in relation to this report, and the suspected owner of the account was identified as a student of Bushland ISD, who admitted to posting the video and it was intended as a joke.
The Potter County Sheriff’s Office realizes this is a current trend, and may have been intended as a joke, but the potential threat to harm others is taken seriously. A threat of this nature is classified as a felony of the 3rd degree.