Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Ex-Marine challenges 'king of Instagram' Dan Bilzerian to fight after their Las Vegas shooting row comes to a head

Medal of Honor winner Dakota Meyer issues the threat as their social media row escalates

Jeff Farrell
Monday 09 October 2017 13:57 BST
Comments
Dakota Meyer challenges Dan Bilzerian to a physical fight: "Let's handle this like men"

A veteran marine and US Medal of Honor winner has challenged the so-called "King of Instagram" to a fight after their row over the Las Vegas massacre escalated.

Dakota Meyer accused Dan Bilzerian of giving out his wife Bristol Palin's phone number to his friends, which he claimed had led to a series of prank calls to the daughter of former vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin.

"Why don't we handle this like men? You got it? You got it, Dan? I'm waiting," he wrote.

Their spat started when Blizerian shared a live video stream of himself running for cover as Stephen Paddock fired on crowds at a concert in the city. The attack left 58 dead and hundreds more injured.

Meyer responded by calling his actions “disgusting”, saying he should have helped the victims rather than play a “dress up” hardman.

Bilzerian hit back on his own social media page, insulting the Afghanistan and Iraq veteran to his 23 million followers.

Defending himself, he later posted a video showing himself begging a police officer for a gun to fire at the shooter in Las Vegas.

But the war of words online took a turn into the real world when Mr Meyer’s wife started receiving a series of prank calls.

Mr Meyer accused Mr Bilzerian of sharing her number so his “little friends” could hassle her.

In response on Instagram, he posted the video challenging Mr Bilzerian to a fight, accusing him of putting his “wife in danger”.

"Why don't we handle this like men," he said. "You got it? You got it, Dan? I'm waiting. So wake up this morning and I gotta tell you Dan. You wanted to get my attention? You got it baby, you got it. Here it is.

"It's one thing you talk about me all day, I don't care. But here's the problem. My purpose in life is family. You wanna bring my family in this, you wanna put my wife in danger by putting her phone number out to people? You got your little friends trying to FaceTime her?"

He added: "My life's not a game and it's not entertainment either so what I will tell you is, my family's purpose is my purpose and now you're my mission. This ain't an option. You just need to tell me when and where and if not we'll be somewhere together, I'm sure."

Meyer was awarded the Medal of Honor for rescuing 36 of his fellow US soldiers under heavy Taliban fire during the Battle of Ganjgal in Afghanistan in 2008.

Mr Bilzerian has not immediately responded to the threat.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in