French influencer sentenced for fake syringe pranks in Paris

A 27-year-old French influencer known online as Amine Mojito was sentenced on October 3 to 12 months in prison, six of them to be served in custody, after filming and posting videos in which he pretended to inject strangers with a capped syringe on the streets of Paris. The court found Ilan M. guilty of violence with a weapon that did not result in incapacity for work, a ruling prosecutors said was warranted because the stunts aggravated public alarm during a period of widespread reports of needle attacks at festivals and parties across France.

In the clips, captioned "Mojito le piqueur fou" or "the mad pricker," Ilan M. sneaks up behind passersby and mimics jabbing them with an empty syringe while a second person films. Some victims reacted in visible shock. Prosecutors argued at trial that the videos exploited an already volatile situation and risked encouraging copycat incidents. They had sought a 15-month sentence under electronic monitoring, including a suspended portion.

The court also ordered Ilan M. to pay a 1,500 euro fine and imposed a three-year ban on owning or carrying a weapon. His lawyers had requested clemency, noting he spent nearly two months in pretrial...