A Texas Man Wanted a Video for Social Media. So He Filmed a Cat Getting Kicked Into the Air Like a ‘Football Field Goal’ and Set on Fire.

A Texas man pleaded guilty to animal cruelty violations and was sentenced to federal prison after he filmed himself and another man torturing a cat, according to authorities.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Texas, 24-year-old Decorius Mire and a co-defendant encountered a live domesticated cat in the parking lot of a Beaumont apartment complex in October 2021.

The co-defendant, encouraged by Mire, kicked the cat as if kicking a football field goal, sending the pet approximately 15 to 20 feet through the air, officials said.

Mire filmed the entire event with his cell phone and then shared the video on his social media channels, where it was commented on and shared by others, authorities said.

The cat survived the initial kick and was lying against a nearby curb when Mire encouraged the co-defendant to “soak the live, injured cat with an accelerant and set the cat on fire,” officials said.

Mire made another video, this time showing the cat “running while engulfed in flames, trying to escape the fire,” authorities said. He also posted that video to his social media channels.

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On Sept. 28, 2022, Mire was indicted by a grand jury and prosecuted under the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, which bans “animal crush videos,” meaning any photograph, motion picture film, video or digital recording or electronic image that depicts animal cruelty.

After pleading guilty, Mire was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on July 17 for animal crushing, and aiding and abetting for the October 2021 incident, officials said.

According to authorities, the case against the co-defendant is ongoing.