NEW TAIPEI — Jacob Pugmire, 27, was referred to the Keelung District Prosecutors Office on Wednesday, July 22, on suspicion of unlawfully entering a building after police found a video online showing him inside the Remains of the 13 Levels (十三層遺址), SETN reported on Saturday, Aug. 22, citing police. No charges have been filed and no court has ruled on the allegation.
Commenters on his Facebook page accused him of disrespecting Taiwan and told him to leave the country, FTV reported on Sunday, Aug. 23.
“I have made mistakes, and I am willing to admit them, take responsibility and improve,” Pugmire wrote in reply, according to FTV. “I can take responsibility for my own mistakes, but I do not accept two incidents defining everything I have done in Taiwan over all these years.” He added: “I am just a very curious person.”
The demand that he leave is one that could only be made of a foreign national, and the coverage has consistently identified him by nationality first. Reports including those by SETN, FTV, Mirror Daily and NextApple, refers to him in the headline as an “American” or “U.S.” influencer or streamer.
NextApple, which broke the story after a member of the public contacted the outlet, reported that Pugmire entered the site “with friends.” None of the reports named the companions or said whether anyone else was summoned or referred to prosecutors. Raising suspicion on singling out Jacob alone.
The ruins are among the most photographed landmarks on the northeast coast action by the
Pugmire has argued that his visibility, not his conduct, is what sets him apart. He wrote that people call him “a person with a lot of controversies,” and continued: “If I hadn’t filmed being sued over Yangmei station, you wouldn’t know. If I hadn’t filmed being arrested without receiving the notice, you wouldn’t know. If I hadn’t filmed be know either.” He said he did not want to “pretend, or package myself, or carefully craft an image to manipulate people.”
Some commenters defended him. Mirror Daily quoted supporters writing that “a few extreme voices criticize without understanding and blow things out of proportion” and asking “why live by what other people say.”
Police told SETN the site, officially the former Shuinandong smelter (水湳洞選煉廠遺址), is a registered historic building and a listed soil and groundwater pollution control site where arsenic, mercury, copper, nickel, lead and zinc have been found, and that its structures are badly weathered and at risk of collapse. Police said they notified the site’s manager, the state-owned utility Taiwan Power Co. (台電), and sent Pugmire a notice to come in and explain, but he did not appear. Entering a listed pollution control site can carry a fine of up to NT$500,000 under the Soil and Groundwater Pollution Remediation Act, police said.
Police urged the public not to enter closed or restricted areas “out of curiosity, to film videos or to chase traffic.” NextApple reported that Taipower has since added eight bilingual warning signs.
Pugmire continues to post from Taiwan and has said he is visiting all 368 of Taiwan’s townships and districts.
