A "Gif video" of rock performer Marilyn Manson being placed in handcuffs by a Bangor (ME) police officer was posted to Instagram and instantly went viral, receiving more than 415,000 views.
The trouble is, the whole thing was a prank, perpetrated by Manson and Officer Curtis Grenier, who was posted to security backstage at the Impact Music Festival on Saturday.
A public information officer took to Facebook to head off any public backlash, writing, "In the interest of saving us a whole lot of call-backs, Marilyn Manson was merely handcuffed and released immediately thereafter."
The post poked a little good-natured fun in Officer Grenier's direction.
"Officer Curtis Grenier, typically listening to only Enya, and a little bit of Oasis, was posted backstage during the Impact Music Festival. He did not recognize Mr. Manson without his stage makeup- our apologies."
The post went on to explain that "Grenier has been spoken to and relieved of back-stage concert related duties for the foreseeable future. The Chief has determined that Grenier can work backstage during Lord of the Dance or anything related to Disney."