Jason Russell, the co-founder of Invisible Children, the advocacy group responsible for the Kony 2012 video that went viral online this month, was detained by the police in San Diego Thursday, according to the Los Angeles Times. He was then taken to a hospital for observation. Now his family is responding to the allegations that drugs and alcohol were involved in what they call his "irrational" actions: public masturbation, public drinking and vandalism.
"Let us say up front that Jason has never had a substance abuse or drinking problem, and this episode wasn't caused by either of those things," the Russell family said in a statement, according to CNN.com. "But yes, he did some irrational things brought on by extreme exhaustion and dehydration. On our end, the focus remains only on his health and protecting our family."
Invisible Children also released a statement regarding the incident:
The past two weeks have taken a severe emotional toll on all of us, Jason especially, and that toll manifested itself in an unfortunate incident yesterday. Jason's passion and his work have done so much to help so many, and we are devastated to see him dealing with this personal health issue.
The Kony 2012 video has been viewed close to 100 million times. The video, which centers on the brutal Ugandan guerrilla leader Joseph Kony, shows Russell explaining to viewers that the Lord's Resistance Army (Kony's army) allegedly abducts children for use as sex slaves and soldiers. Some critics have questioned the motives of Invisible Children since the video went viral, and the organization responded to the backlash on its website.
Read more at the Los Angeles Times.