The Police Operation That Targets Phish Fans In Pittsburgh Is A ‘Hoax’

Phish brings their current summer tour to Burgettstown, Pennsylvania on Friday and Saturday for their eighth and ninth shows at The Pavilion at Star Lake. A document purportedly from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office circulated on social media last week detailing a supposed joint operation with the Department of Homeland Security and Drug Enforcement Administration targeting Phish fans dubbed “Phish In A Barrel.” It turns out the document is a hoax and no such operation for the Pittsburgh area concerts has been ordered.

Deputy Sheriff Elizabeth Davidson spoke with Pittsburgh CBS affiliate KDKA. Davidson confirmed the document is a hoax and showed off a real document from the department showing the fake document uses different letterhead.

The Washington County Sheriff found out about the fake document via an angry call into the department. “The sheriff was like, ‘I never ordered anything like that.’ He was very confused,” Davidson told KDKA. Davidson also pointed out the perpetrator of the hoax may face charges themselves. “You’re mimicking an order, and you’re causing chaos and painting a department in a negative light,” Davidson added.

KDKA’s report features an interview with Phish fan and current JamBase team member Katie Irwin. Katie recounted her experience talking with law enforcement at Star Lake while attending a Phish show in 2012. “They told us that Phish fans are usually very easy to manage and that they’ve never really had any big problems,” Katie remembered. “My experience was that they were pretty laid back.”

Watch the full KDKA report about the “Phish In A Barrel” hoax below:

Check out a response from the sheriff: