Aspiring Facebook weatherman charged with arson, admits to starting fire for clicks

Police say a man arrested for arson in eastern Kentucky confessed to setting a fire to draw attention to his Facebook page.

Jenkins Police Chief James Stephens said 21-year-old Johnny Mullins is facing a charge of second-degree arson for the blaze in Letcher County. He said Mullins would post selfie videos on Facebook from the scene of various fires, delivering what he called a “Weather Outlook” segment for his viewers.

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In his last video, posted on Nov. 6, Mullins warned people in eastern Kentucky to “be extremely careful if you’re out there,” and got 2,900 views.

As of last Monday, local media reported at least 20 different forest fires had broken out across the region.

EKB-TV reported that a suspicious forest fire in Wheaton Hollow, which grew out of control, led them to Mullins.

The chief told The Associated Press on Nov. 11 that Mullins told him he started the fire “because he enjoyed the attention he got from the Facebook stuff.”

“It’s too bad because he’s not a bad kid – he’s just misguided,” Stephens said.

— With files from Jenny Sung