Utah Judge Acquits Rapping ‘McPrankster’
A Utah teen who rapped his McDonald’s order—and may, or may not, have used the F-word—was acquitted of a disorderly conduct charge in a bench trial on Tuesday.
Eighteen-year-old Spenser Dauwalder was with three friends who pulled up to a McDonald’s drive-thru and rapped their order, copying a YouTube video. But manager Ilene Timoko was not amused. She testified she heard both swearing and rapping, so she went outside to tell the youths they needed to place an order or leave, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Timoko said she felt she was being closely followed by the car as she returned to the restaurant, and when she turned around it zigzagged, apparently to make it difficult for her to get the license number. She said the driver, who turned out to be Dauwalder, yelled “F— this McDonald’s”; Dauwalder contends he really said, “This place sucks, we’re going to Wendy’s.” Timoko said she called the police because she was concerned about the reckless driving.
The Associated Press dubbed Dauwalder a “McPrankster” in its story on the verdict. The youth told the wire service that he had been driving, but he wasn’t the one rapping. ”I was pretty scared,” he said. ”I didn’t really know what would happen in court. It was kind of intimidating. … I’m just glad the truth really came out.”
