Moviegoer arrested for pepper spraying audience member who was using cellphone: police
Por Isabel Keane — – World RSS Feed
Moviegoer arrested for pepper spraying audience member who was using cellphone: police
Moviegoers were watching ‘The Uprising’ at the time of the incident
Isabel Keane in New York Sunday 20 September 2026 11:51 EDT
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A moviegoer in Los Angeles was arrested after allegedly pepper-spraying a fellow movie attendee who was using their cellphone, police said.
Police were called to the AMC 16 theater in Burbank around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday after witnesses heard the aerosol spray being administered in the theater.
Authorities arrested 34-year-old Matthew Ware, of Los Angeles, on suspicion of misdemeanor battery. He was later booked in the Burbank Jail, but released the following morning, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Ware reportedly pepper-sprayed a person who was using their cell phone “about 40 minutes into the movie,” a witness told KTLA.
Moments later, the person could be heard screaming that they had been pepper-sprayed.
It is believed they were watching the film The Uprising, about a revolt in medieval England in the wake of a devastating plague, at the time of the incident.
At least two movie-goers were treated at a hospital after being exposed to the pepper spray.
Moviegoer Joe Rodriguez said the incident happened in the back of the theater, telling CBS News, “It was definitely the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen happen at the movies.”
He noted the alleged victim was scrolling on his phone with the brightness turned all the way down when another member of the audience walked up to the man and asked him to turn off his phone.
The man refused, prompting the man to allegedly use the pepper-spray.
“This is insane. This grown man would resort to that,” Rodriguez said. “They gave him the benefit of the doubt; he did try to use his words initially, but that’s just unacceptable.”
The movie theater offered everyone in the theater a refund. The Uprising currently has a 55 percent rating on the movie rating site Rotten Tomatoes.
“To be completely honest, the movie wasn’t my cup of tea,” Rodriguez added. “I was more thrilled by what happened than the movie itself.”
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