Judge doubles TikToker Dakota Harper’s bond to $20,000 after arson arrest. Now he claims he would be free if he just stayed away from his ex

TikToker Dakota Harper has had his bond doubled from $10,000 to $20,000 by a judge. Harper is accused of setting fire to an abandoned home in West Virginia alongside his now-ex-girlfriend, Felicity Eatmon. Los Angeles Magazine had a phone conversation with Harper, who’s being held in West Virginia’s South Central Regional Jail and Correctional Facility.

Harper essentially blamed Eatmon for his legal woes, saying, “I need to stay away from Felicity. She’s the reason I’ve been in jail… if I stayed away from her, I would not be in any trouble.”

The couple are co-defendants in the arson case

Harper and Eatmon are facing charges of first-degree arson and conspiracy to commit arson. Investigators claim that surveillance footage shows the couple approaching the property before lighting a paper on fire and putting it inside the property.

While the building the couple allegedly set on fire was abandoned, the fire caused thousands of dollars of damage to the Canaan United Methodist Church nearby. The police haven’t released the motive behind the couple’s actions, if one is known to them.

Penalties for crimes vary by state. In West Virginia, first-degree arson can result in a prison sentence of up to 20 years, and conspiracy to commit arson can result in a sentence of up to 25 years. Depending on how the case proceeds, there could be a lengthy jail sentence in the future for the couple.

Harper and Eatmon’s relationship got them thousands of followers

The couple allegedly had a tumultuous relationship even before their arrest in September. They documented their arguments and periods of homelessness online as part of their TikTok content, similar to Matt and Abby’s confession about Matt sleeping in a closet when the couple was going through a breakup. It’s a niche space on the platform, but the design of TikTok allows for such situations to pull in followers, which can result in monetary benefits depending on views and engagement.

However, on their shared account, Harper and Eatmon shared their financial issues and asked their viewers for money, so it’s possible that they weren’t getting money from TikTok’s creator program. Although they didn’t seem to fall into the dangerous mindset that some TikTok users have shared, in which they believed that credit cards were just free money.

Harper had family members publicly speak against Eatmon, as they also seem to share his belief that he didn’t start getting into legal trouble until after meeting Eatmon. As of right now, there’s no information as to when Harper’s next hearing will be scheduled.

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