Pierce County YouTube activist charged after pepper-spraying couple

A Pierce County man and self-styled First Amendment activist was charged with second-degree assault after pepper-spraying a married couple earlier this month.

Seth Jameson Price, 39, a “first amendment auditor” who posts to the YouTube channel “Cultural Impact Alliance (C.I.A.)”, was booked into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of two counts of assault in the second degree after his arrest Oct 10.

Earlier that day, officers were dispatched to the Sweet Jane’s marijuana dispensary in reference to a report of assault with a weapon by a suspicious looking man.

Court records describe how multiple witnesses at the scene watched a man wearing sunglasses and a white ski mask, later identified as Price, film cars and people at the scene without their permission.

One married couple eventually walked up to the man to ask why he was taking their pictures. After telling the pair to get away from him, the man then pepper-sprayed the pair without warning, fleeing westbound on foot, according to the sheriff’s incident report.

While the husband was spared from most of the spray, an officer at the scene described the wife as “struggling with her eyes.” She appeared to be in pain while other people poured water into her eyes.

Price was later arrested at his residence near Lake Spanaway, where officers confiscated pepper spray and a loaded firearm. He was released on bail a week later and faces a tentative jury trial on Dec. 8 in Pierce County Superior Court.

The assault charges are felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

This wasn’t Price’s first time dealing with sheriff’s deputies. On September 24, he was verbally trespassed from the Lake Spanaway Golf Course, or as he calls it “the land of communism.”

A video on another YouTube channel, “I.A.M. Free - Inland Auditing Media”, titled “LEAVE THE PUBLIC SIDEWALK OR GO TO JAIL! I’M DONE WITH YOU!” features a second activist who narrates, describes the verbal trespass incident, and speaks with Price, who also appears.

While walking to the course, the second activist explains to his 101,000 subscribers that he is a “journalist” investigating the publicly owned course, since another auditor (Price) had been trespassed from the property a week prior. In the video, the second activist greets Price. Both men then speak with sheriff’s deputies about the trespass order. Both men subsequently posted videos of the conversation with deputies to their respective YouTube channels. Price’s version includes a banner that names the I.A.M. channel and links to it.

Price is far from the first person to do this.

Though the title may imply a more official occupation, First Amendment auditing is actually an American social movement where individuals test their rights to photograph and record video on public property. They target government employees, but will film private citizens as well.

The goal of these individuals is to elicit reactions from people until the police are notified. If law enforcement or the subjects being recorded confront the auditor, attempt to stop the filming or violate their first amendment rights, they “fail” the audit.

While many auditors consider their work a form of grassroots activism that upholds the strength of the U.S. Constitution, law enforcement officials have frequently expressed concern over their confrontational tactics.

In a video posted to the PCSO Facebook page, Public Information Officer Carly Cappetto encouraged public employees to be prepared for handling these individuals.

“For anyone that works in a public space, talk to your supervisors and have a plan in place for professionally handling these independent journalists,” she said. “Please know that anyone can be filmed or photographed in a public space and the whole point of these journalists are to cause fear and intimidation to get you to violate their constitutional rights.”

This story was originally published October 25, 2025 at 3:23 PM.