What is the claim?
Social media users are circulating a 47-second video showing police officers detaining an individual with the claim that he is an Indian national named “Bhuvesh Patel,” who was caught attempting to start a fire for looting in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles.
The video has a text overlaid on it, which reads, “WE HELPED CATCH A GUY TRING TO START A FIRE ON MY BLOCK.” It has surfaced on multiple social media platforms, including X, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. An X user posted this video with the caption, “Pajeet, Bhuvesh Patel (Hindu) was caught trying to start a fire with torch blower for looting in areas devastated by fires 📍 Woodland Hills, CA.” At the time of writing this check, the post had amassed over 132,000 views and more than 1,000 shares. Archived versions of this and other similar posts can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Screenshots of similar viral social media posts. (Source: Facebook/Instagram/X/YouTube/Modified by Logically Facts)
However, we found that the individual detained in the viral video has been identified as a Mexican immigrant named Juan Manuel Sierra, not an Indian national named “Bhuvesh Patel.”
What are the facts?
We conducted a Google search using relevant keywords and found multiple news reports about the incident, indicating that an individual named Juan Sierra was arrested after the LA neighborhood residents alleged that he was attempting to start a fire.
A news report (archived here) published on January 14, 2025, by the Los Angeles Times, stated that an individual named Juan Manuel Sierra, 33, a.k.a. Juan Manuel Sierra-Leyva, was apprehended on Thursday by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Sierra was caught with a blowtorch and arrested for violating felony probation after “attempting to start a fire” in a West Hills neighborhood near the location of the Kenneth fire.
Furthermore, a Newsweek report, which also identified the arrested individual as Juan Manuel Sierra, included visuals from a different angle similar to the viral video. The video in the report shows a man in a black outfit being confronted by Woodland Hills residents. He is seen near a tree on the sidewalk before being taken into custody by police officers.
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Comparison between viral video and Newsweek video. (Source: X/Newsweek/Modified by Logically Facts)
In addition, both the viral and the Newsweek footage showed similar blue, black, and green garbage cans, as well as an individual wearing grey and black attire with long hair and a bicycle on the road.
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Comparison of viral and Newsweek videos. (Source: X/Newsweek/Modified by Logically Facts)
We also found an official statement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) corroborating news reports that identified the individual as Juan Manuel Sierra, a Mexican citizen. The ICE statement headlined: “Statement by ICE on a person of interest being held in connection with the California fires” noted that “Juan Manuel Sierra, 33, aka Juan Manuel Sierra-Leyva, Juan Leva, Leyva Moniker, and Juan Sierra, is a Mexican national who entered the U.S. unlawfully at an unknown date and location without inspection by an immigration official.” It added that the LAPD arrested Sierra on January 10 on a felony probation violation.
Furthermore, a reverse image search on the keyframes from the viral video led us to multiple user-generated videos on social media. An Instagram user, ‘reresellsvroomvrooms’ shared this clip with similar overlaid text (archived here and here) on January 10, 2025, and stated in the comments that they filmed it.
Logically Facts has contacted ICE and LAPD for a comment, and we will update this fact-check if and when we receive it.
The verdict
According to multiple reports, the individual in the viral video has been identified as Juan Manuel Sierra, a Mexican immigrant, who was caught attempting to start a fire for looting in Woodland Hills. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has also confirmed the same.
(This story was originally published by Logically Facts, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective)
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
