Mother Arrested After Video of Her 1-Year Old Baby Smoking Marijuana Goes Viral

Raleigh, NC — Brianna Ashanti Lofton, a 20-year old mother from Raleigh, North Carolina, was arrested and charged with two counts of felony child abuse and possession of marijuana. She was identified because of a video of her 1-year-old baby smoking marijuana that went viral.

The original version of the video, which now seems to be deleted, got 1.5 million views. The 10-second clip shows a hand behind the camera holding out a rolled cigarillo to the baby’s mouth which the baby inhales.

The video went viral after a Facebook user, Rasheed Martin, posted the video and urged for the mother’s arrest. He doesn’t know the mother personally and only found out about the video when a friend shared it online. He said he wanted the mother to be held responsible.

A lot of people who were upset with the mother and worried about the baby shared the video. It was eventually was brought to the Raleigh Police Department’s attention.

“Once more and more people found out about this situation, they showed me a screenshot of her actual Facebook page,” Martin told the New York Post. “Then I later added it to the post so everyone could know exactly who … did that to the poor little girl.”

According to the police, the child is now safe and placed in the county’s child protective services department. Lofton is in police custody, charged with two counts of felony child abuse and marijuana possession.