SAN DIEGO, March 20 (UPI) -- Jason Russell, creator of the viral "Kony 2012" video, faced intense pressure before his bizarre behavior in San Diego last week, a friend and colleague said.
Ben Keesey, chief executive of Invisible Children Inc., which produced the video, said "these two weeks have been tough" on Russell, who co-founded the non-profit group that has sought to publicize atrocities it says have been committed by the African militant group Lord's Resistance Army, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Russell, 33, was taken into custody by San Diego police Thursday after neighbors reported him running naked, pounding his fists on the sidewalk and shouting. He was taken to a mental health facility for observation.
Russell was not arrested or charged.
The video has been viewed online more than 100 million times and the attention took a "serious toll on [Russell] and unfortunately, the whole world saw that," Keesey said.
Russell's wife Danica and other family members suggested in a statement criticism of the video may have played a role in his behavior.
"Because of how personal the film is, many of the attacks against it were also very personal, and Jason took them very hard," the statement said.
Some critics said the video had misstated facts about the amount of violence in Uganda, Kony's whereabouts and the strength of his militia forces, the Times said.
"Jason has dedicated his adult life to this cause, leading to [the] Kony 2012 [video]," the family statement said. "We thought a few thousand people would see the film, but in less than a week, millions of people around the world saw it."
The video calls for the arrest of Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony. It depicts Kony's brutal tactics in northern Uganda over two decades that resulted in thousands of deaths and kidnappings of children forced to become soldiers in his Lord's Resistance Army.
