Mother Arrested After Video of Her Baby Smoking Goes Viral

A North Carolina woman has been arrested after a social media video displaying a baby smoking a cigar went viral. According to the New York Post, 20-year-old Brianna Ashanti Lofton has been charged with two counts of felony child abuse and marijuana possession on Wednesday, March 21.
According to Raleigh Police, Lofton was placed under arrest after a Facebook user posted the video, urging authorities to arrest the mother. The 10- second clip shows an individual holding a cigarillo close to the lips of the infant. The child then makes a cooing noise before inhaling and letting out a puff of smoke.
The concerned user, identified as Rasheed Martin of New York, says he didn’t speak to police directly but wanted to do his part in helping identify those involved. Martin says he only found out about the video after a friend shared it. He claims he chose to repost the video to urge followers and the 1.5 million viewers of the clip to help police.
"Once more and more people found out about this situation, they showed me a screenshot of her actual Facebook page,” Martin told the Post. “Then I later added it to the post so everyone could know exactly who … did that to the poor little girl.”
“Big thanks to everyone who posted information about the smoking mother and baby,” Raleigh police officials wrote to their Facebook followers Wednesday. “Thanks to your willingness to get involved, the child is now safe, and the mother is in police custody.”

Source: nypost.com