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Moviegoer arrested for pepper spraying audience member who was using cellphone: police

Read the original at The Independent ↗
Cite

Keane, I. (2026, September 20). Moviegoer arrested for pepper spraying audience member who was using cellphone: police. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/moviegoer-arrested-pepper-spray-cellphone-amc-la-b3053155.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-09-20 · by Isabel Keane

Quick Summary

In Los Angeles, Matthew Ware, 34, was arrested for pepper-spraying a moviegoer using their cellphone during a screening at an AMC theater in Burbank on Tuesday evening. At least two people were treated at a hospital after being exposed to the spray. The incident occurred about 40 minutes into the film "The Uprising," and witnesses described it as highly unusual, with some questioning the extreme nature of Ware's response to the phone use.
Written by AI on 2026-09-20, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On Tuesday at AMC Burbank 16, Matthew Ware, 34, was arrested for pepper-spraying a man who had his phone out during a screening of "The Uprising" around 5:30 p.m. Witnesses reported that after asking the victim to turn off his phone, which he was using with brightness down, Ware became angry when the request was refused and sprayed him with pepper spray about 40 minutes into the movie. Two other people were treated at a hospital for exposure to the pepper spray. Joe Rodriguez, who witnessed the incident from the back of the theater, described it as "the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen happen at the movies." The arrest reignited debates over phone use in theaters among film enthusiasts.

Written for “Pepper Spray Incident Theater” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Pepper Spray Incident Theater
Entertainment · 3 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 24% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Miffed moviegoer unleashes pepper spray attack on cellphone user at Burbank theater Same event
New York Post
Hedges 5 of 17 claims Outlet record 66/100
Pepper spray confrontation at AMC reignites frustration over phone use in theaters Same event
NBC News
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 6 of 37 claims Outlet record 78/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
24%
4 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

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Who wrote this

Isabel Keane
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🔮 “The easy thing to do would be to just immediately refund people, and if there were issues with certain refunds, deal with those consumers individually, and that didn’t happen here,” Roberts told the outlet.
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🔮 President Donald Trump said he would be willing to protect Elon Musk and his staff if Democrats take control of Congress after the midterm elections this week.
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 88 articles by Isabel Keane →

Topics

AMC Burbank KTLA Los Angeles the Los Angeles Times

Subjects

Los Angeles GPE · 2× Rodriguez PERSON · 2× AMC ORG · 1× Burbank PERSON · 1× England GPE · 1× Joe Rodriguez PERSON · 1× KTLA ORG · 1× Matthew Ware PERSON · 1× Ware PERSON · 1× the Los Angeles Times ORG · 1×

Narrative

He noted the alleged victim was scrolling on his phone with the brightness turned all the way down when another member of the audience walked up to the man and asked him to turn off his phone.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-20
🔮 Moments later, the person could be heard screaming that they had been pepper-sprayed.
2026-09-20 · The Independent
Moviegoer arrested for pepper spraying audience member who was using cellphone: police · mixed framing

Claims (17 extracted, 4 hedged)

A moviegoer in Los Angeles was arrested after allegedly pepper-spraying a fellow movie attendee who was using their cellphone, police said. uncertain
police → arrest → cellphone
Police were called to the AMC 16 theater in Burbank around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday after witnesses heard the aerosol spray being administered in the theater. asserted
spray → call → theater
Authorities arrested 34-year-old Matthew Ware, of Los Angeles, on suspicion of misdemeanor battery. asserted
Authorities → arrest → battery
He was later booked in the Burbank Jail, but released the following morning, the Los Angeles Times reported. asserted
Times → book → Jail
Ware reportedly pepper-sprayed a person who was using their cell phone “about 40 minutes into the movie,” a witness told KTLA. uncertain
witness → spray → KTLA
Moments later, the person could be heard screaming that they had been pepper-sprayed. uncertain
they → hear → ?
It is believed they were watching the film The Uprising, about a revolt in medieval England in the wake of a devastating plague, at the time of the incident. asserted
they → believe → incident
At least two movie-goers were treated at a hospital after being exposed to the pepper spray. asserted
goers → treat → spray
Moviegoer Joe Rodriguez said the incident happened in the back of the theater, telling CBS News, “It was definitely the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen happen at the movies.” asserted
I → say → movies
He noted the alleged victim was scrolling on his phone with the brightness turned all the way down when another member of the audience walked up to the man and asked him to turn off his phone. asserted
member → note → phone
The man refused, prompting the man to allegedly use the pepper-spray. uncertain
man → refuse → spray
This grown man would resort to that,” Rodriguez said. asserted
Rodriguez → resort → that
“They gave him the benefit of the doubt; he did try to use his words initially, but that’s just unacceptable.” asserted
that → give → words
The movie theater offered everyone in the theater a refund. asserted
theater → offer → refund
The Uprising currently has a 55 percent rating on the movie rating site Rotten Tomatoes. asserted
Uprising → have → site
“To be completely honest, the movie wasn’t my cup of tea,” Rodriguez added. asserted
Rodriguez → add → tea
“I was more thrilled by what happened than the movie itself.” asserted
what → thrill → movie
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