Carver Man Charged in Animal Crushing Case

MINNEAPOLIS – Bryan Wesley Edison, age 32, has been federally indicted with sixteen counts of Animal Crushing, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.  Edison created hundreds of videos showing animals being tortured, drowned, dismembered, disemboweled, attacked, and killed, which he published and sold on his pay-per-view YouTube channels.  Edison made his initial appearance in federal court today.

“Animal crushing is not only sickening, it is a federal crime,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.  “When someone takes pleasure in the torture of defenseless animals, it signals a deeper danger to our community.  Especially in these troubled times, we will not allow these warning signs to go unchecked.”

In 2019, President Trump overhauled and expanded the “Crush Video Statute” with the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act (“PACT Act”) to make it unlawful for any person to purposely engage in animal “crushing,” that is, purposely crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating, impaling, or otherwise subjecting to serious bodily injury living mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians.  This act recognized that individuals who intentionally torture and kill animals pose a unique danger to others and to society as a whole.

Since 2022, Bryan Edison, of Carver, Minnesota, operated pay-per-view YouTube Channels that depicted animals being crushed and tortured for Edison and his viewers’ sadistic enjoyment.  Edison posted nearly 350 animal crush videos on his YouTube channels.  Edison created and then posted videos in which he purposefully placed live animals into artificial enclosures such as a playpen, a bathtub, and a shower.  These animals included birds, hamsters, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, lizards and other large live reptiles, dogs, and snapping turtles.  Edison would sometimes costume the animals or set up a “scenario” in which the torture would occur.  Edison would then create crush videos in which the animals suffered prolonged torture and death through impalement, crushing, drowning, suffocating, and being skinned and dismembered alive by the larger animals.

Edison allowed the public to freely access some videos. Other videos required a subscription by the user.  Edison set up different “membership” levels offered for $0.99, $9.99, $44.99, or $99.99 per month, with the latter being granted access to “custom” videos commissioned by the member.  Edison advertised that the videos with the most graphic torture were behind the membership paywalls.

Edison developed logos for his channels and advertised merchandise offered for sale bearing those logos.  Edison attempted to drive viewers to his YouTube pages with “clickbait” that emphasized the torture aspects of the videos, using titles and descriptors such as “slow death,” “shred,” “cracks head open,” “screaming,” “tear apart,” “kills mouse brutally,” and “THAT REALLY HURTS.”

Edison narrated many of the videos he created.  His commentary included, “Shredder, do your worst,” “the poor black bunny is losing air by the second,” “there’s nothing I can do to save you,” “the squeal of displeasure, now the panic sets in,” and “gurgling screams.”

Edison’s animal crush channels, including “Prince’s Pet Planet” and “Prince’s Chomp Squad,” were ultimately removed by YouTube for multiple and severe violations of YouTube’s policy on violence.

“Animal crushing is an appalling abuse of power over vulnerable creatures,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis.  “The exercise of violence over the defenseless is never acceptable.  The FBI stands with our law enforcement partners to rigorously enforce the laws that prevent and punish such heinous acts of cruelty.”

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Evans is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.