Was Lucas Dobre arrested? Viral YouTuber's reckless driving video debunked

A short clip of a supposed news report about Lucas Dobre’s arrest recently surfaced on Facebook.

The video mentions that the YouTube personality was taken into custody for reckless driving, and his bail was set at $10,000. The 17-second-long news footage appeared on the Dobre Brothers' Facebook page with the caption, “Free Bro.” An anchor is seen reporting the arrest of one half of the famous duo as he says: 

“Famous YouTube star, Lucas Dobre, has been arrested this evening in Washington, D.C., for reckless driving in his red Ferrari. His bail is set to be 10,000 dollars and he is set to be released later this week.” 

The YouTuber has not been arrested, as the news report appears to be staged as a teaser for a prank. The Dobre Brothers page also uploaded multiple videos featuring Lucas and Marcus, with others. The fake bulletin recounts the same story as a past video uploaded by Lucas and Marcus in December 2022. 

The twins pretended that one of them was jailed and prank-called their loved ones, seemingly testing their loyalty. The duo and their older brothers, known for the Dobre Brothers channel, have produced multiple videos related to arrest pranks. The twins once pulled off a joke about death and received backlash for their views. 

Trigger Warning: This article contains references to self-harm. Reader's discretion is advised.

Marcus and Lucas Dobre received backlash for faking the former’s death for a YouTube prank

In January 2022, the YouTube stars shared a video with the title, “MY TWIN BROTHER IS DEAD?!” The video started with Lucas Dobre reading a letter written by his sibling: 

“‘Put this on YouTube.’ What is this? Aight, it says, ‘To my family, Lucas, mom, dad, Cyrus, Darius, and everyone else I just wanna say I love you guys. I just wanted to write you this letter before I go. I'm gonna miss you so much, but now I'm gone forever.’” 

Lucas Dobre continued reading the letter:

“‘Lucas, please split our money with our family. And all of our assets, please.’ What? What is he talking about? ‘Also, Lucas you can keep the YouTube channel to yourself. Please don't give up on our fans. They really love us so much and we keep them happy. I left you something in the backyard to remember me. From Marcus, I will see you in the sky.’” 

After finishing reading, Lucas acts shocked and looks for his twin around the house and outside, and also tells his older brothers about Marcus's fake death. At the end of the video, Marcus appears and apologizes to the audience, claiming to have pranked his family. The joke about self-harm triggered instant backlash in the comments, as many slammed the duo. 

“I lost a friend to suicide in highschool, this type of ‘prank’ is sickening to my core. I cannot believe these fools have a following,” a user commented. 

“You really shouldn't do a prank like this, even though it's obviously staged. Your audience is naive, young children, and you definitely know that,” another user advised the duo to do better. 

“as if children think of these people as role models, these are the last people I would want my kids to look up to,” one user called out, Lucas and Marcus. 

“Doing this video as a prank was messed up. You don't make joke about a serious topic like this. I lost my uncle in 2017 to taking his own life,” another one criticized the brothers. 

Many commenters voiced the same opinion, terming the prank video as problematic and urging the Twins to joke about suicide.