ZeroDarkTony is live [ZeroDarkTony] / October 28, 2026 / YouTube / lznaliX4QXI

He also said he had talked to a detective he named about Hochstetter, and that he would go to a fee hearing the next day.

Anthony R. D’Amato, Jr., also known as ZeroDarkTony, said on an Oct. 28, 2026, YouTube livestream that he would file a police report against Scott Hochstetter, known online as DOA, who streams on YouTube at @thelordofthegadflies. He did not name him in those remarks; by context he meant Hochstetter, whom he described as facing felony charges and, minutes later, named: “Unlike Scott, I don’t lie about my past.” He said he would go to a police station on his lunch break and called the conduct “hate crimes.” He also said he would learn the identities of critics he says he could sue. Legal fund: D’Amato thanked viewers for payments at least four times. About 33 minutes in, seconds after saying he would file the police report, he said, “thank you so much to people who have been dropping the cash apps. Much appreciated. Oh, and the Venmos.” About 57 minutes in he said, “Hold on, another cash app came in,” and added, “I just made 150 in less than 60 minutes.” He did not call the money a legal fund on this stream or say which case it is for. No payment links appear in the captured chat. There is no public accounting of the fund.

"When I go in there and tell him that this guy is like, these are hate crimes"

D’Amato said it three times in 15 minutes (Exhibits A to C): he would file a police report on Hochstetter that day, police would “love to throw” Hochstetter’s felony case “in the bucket,” and “another charge will put him into custody.” He said he had held off until now: “I haven’t done it because I didn’t really want to, but now I have to.” Hochstetter is not on trial yet. In People v. Hochstetter (25CJCF01106), he has pleaded not guilty to one count of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury and five counts of criminal threats, all dated Feb. 16, 2024. His next court date is a pretrial conference on Dec. 1, 2026, and the docket shows the court let his $75,000 bond stand on Oct. 6, 2026. Five hate-crime vandalism counts were dismissed at his preliminary hearing in August 2025, and none of the remaining counts carries a hate-crime label. HNZ has not seen the police report D’Amato said he would file. He also said he would learn who his critics are because “they know that I could sue them” (Exhibit D). He did not say how. Near the end, in remarks that by context are about Hochstetter (he names Scott about four minutes earlier and refers to “his court”), he said he had told a detective he named as Detective Gomez that the man was livestreaming, not just recording (Exhibit F), and he denied swatting him or paying anyone to slash tires. He said he would go to the next day’s fee hearing (Exhibit E). That hearing, in D’Amato v. Brooks (26STRO01932), his civil harassment case against Jarred Brooks, ended with the judge awarding D’Amato $10,725.00 of the $23,197.40 in attorney fees he had asked for. Her minute order lists only Brooks and D’Amato’s lawyer as present, both appearing remotely.

Exhibit A

D’Amato says he will go to a police station that day: “I’m gonna go to the police station a little later during my lunch break. And I am going to file a criminal report. And then we’ll see how it goes from there for him.”

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Timestamps: 00:17:25 – 00:19:23 | Watch with a free account

He says that when he tells police Hochstetter is “on trial for felonies,” “they’re gonna love to throw that in the bucket.” He calls the conduct hate crimes but does not say what it was or what evidence he would bring.

Exhibit B

D’Amato returns to the police report plan, saying, “I’m going to file a police report, and I have every right and reason, and I have been very nice and benevolent about it, and I haven’t done it, but now I’m gonna go do it. And then we’ll see how the DA handles it when he has another police report. Because I believe that another charge will put him into custody.”

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Timestamps: 00:28:26 – 00:30:23 | Watch with a free account

That “another charge will put him into custody” is his belief, not a court order. This is the second time in about ten minutes that he says he will file.

Exhibit C

D’Amato says a third time, “I’m gonna go file a police report on him,” right after predicting that his critics’ “double down” will only help him.

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Timestamps: 00:31:10 – 00:33:21 | Watch with a free account

Seconds later he thanks viewers for Cash App and Venmo payments (see “Legal fund” above).

Exhibit D

D’Amato says his critics “know that I could get their identity and I’m going to,” and, “I am going to identify these individuals. Plain and simple.” He says Hochstetter cannot get videos he “wants and needs for his case,” and, “we’re not giving it to him.”

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Timestamps: 00:38:29 – 00:40:45 | Watch with a free account

He gives a lawsuit as his reason but does not say how he would learn who they are. He also says “today will be the beginning phases of my legal actions” and that he does not need a lawyer to start.

Exhibit E

D’Amato says he will go to court the next day: “tomorrow would be the fee hearing. And I’m gonna go down there… I’m certainly not scared of a lawsuit, but that’s where I will be.” In the same clip he says he uses copyright strikes against critics: “other than copyright striking people, I don’t watch their shit either.”

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Timestamps: 00:52:45 – 00:55:58 | Watch with a free account

He does not name the case or the amount; it is the Brooks fee hearing described above. He also denies swatting the critic he is discussing: “I never swatted him.”

Exhibit F

D’Amato first denies paying anyone to slash tires, “I would never pay somebody to go slash some funky tires,” and says the critic has “a very high burden of proof” if he tries to tie D’Amato to a case. Then: “I did speak with Detective Gomez. I absolutely did. In fact, I’m the one who told Detective Gomez that he was live streaming and he wasn’t just recording, that he lied to her.”

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Timestamps: 00:56:39 – 00:58:33 | Watch with a free account

His account of what he told the detective is his own; he showed no record of it. The clip opens with him thanking a viewer for another Cash App payment.

Sources

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