San Francisco Sheriff confirms City Hall "raid" by DOGE employees was a YouTube prank
The San Francisco Sheriff's Office on Tuesday confirmed that the three men claiming to work for the Department of Government Efficiency who demanded information from officials at City Hall earlier in February were perpetrating a YouTube prank.
The incident that happened at San Francisco City Hall on Friday, Feb. 14, was originally reported by authorities as involving men wearing DOGE shirts and red baseball hats with the pro-Trump slogan "Make America Great Again." Those initial reports indicated that the men entered several offices and demanded employees turn over digital information "related to alleged wasteful government spending and fraud."
The employees refused their requests and called sheriff's deputies, who arrived after the men had left City Hall.
"We do not believe the individuals requesting access to City files were representatives from DOGE," the sheriff's office said after the incident.
Last week, the San Francisco Sheriff provided an update saying the men were actually wearing t-shirts for the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
On Monday, a video was posted on YouTube by the account of known prank comic Danny Mullen with the headline "Fake DOGE prank San Francisco (Liberal Meltdown)" that showed the incident. On Tuesday, the San Francisco Sheriff's Office provided an update, saying authorities were aware of the prank clip.
"The San Francisco Sheriff's Office expects to complete its investigation soon into the 2/14/25 incident at City Hall after video surfaced last night showing that the individuals impersonating DOGE were engaged in a "prank" for the benefit of YouTube notoriety," the statement read. "While some City employees may have been concerned by the disruption to their work, it's important to remember that San Francisco prides itself on its dedication to freedom of speech and expression."
The statement went on to say the behaviors of the pranksters "went beyond courteous interactions" with the workers at City Hall and happened "in areas where City employees have an expectation of personal workspace safety."
The San Francisco Sheriff said the investigation was ongoing into "those who engage in harassing behavior to serve their own political agendas," indicating the men involved could be charged "under Penal Code 602.1b; those who intentionally obstruct our employees' efforts to serve our residents and visitors may be subject to arrest."
