Arizona's viral “Penis Man” tagger says he was arrested by “25 heavily armed SWAT officers”

When last we reported on Penis Man, the anonymous Arizona troublemaker was a mere thorn in the side of Tempe, which found its residents divided in their views of the artist’s months-long string of “Penis Man” graffiti tags. Now, just a few weeks later, the fun is over. Phoenix New Times reports that the culprit, identified as Dustin Shomer, was arrested by Tempe police. His folly, it appears, was overconfidence. Writing “Penis Man” on a street sign is one thing; writing it on the front door of Tempe’s municipal building is another.

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Per the authorities, Shomer is charged with 16 counts of aggravated criminal damage, eight counts of criminal damage, and one count of criminal trespassing in the first degree. Shomer, meanwhile, wrote on Facebook that he was apprehended by “25 heavily armed SWAT officers” who raided his condo and vehicle and “pointed a silenced assault rifle in my face.” He also alleges that he was denied medical attention while incarcerated.

“Anyone with any doubt who the bad guys are here… be certain it is the City of Tempe, City of Phoenix, and police forces valleywide,” he said. “There is no excuse for pointing an AR-15 in the face of a non-violent offender.” He did, however, note that “Some of the detectives I met seemed to be genuine penis man fans.”

Shomer started a GoFundMe to help pay his legal fees. “I’m broke and have lost my job,” he writes. “I need help with legal fees to defend myself against Tempe PD. I’ve got bad PTSD and had an AR-15 in my face 2 days ago. That shit was real scary.”

We stand with you, Penis Man.

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