The Department of Homeland Security’s Pokémon-themed video showcasing immigration arrests is going viral … but the folks at Pokémon are not giving it their stamp of approval.
The clip shows federal law enforcement agents taking suspects into custody as the Pokémon theme song plays … and the edit features scenes from the hit TV show … but it sounds like the feds did this all on their own.
A rep for Pokémon Company International tells TMZ … “We are aware of a recent video posted by the Department of Homeland Security that includes imagery and language associated with our brand. Our company was not involved in the creation or distribution of this content, and permission was not granted for the use of our intellectual property.”
DHS captioned the clip, “Gotta Catch ‘Em All” … and the video ends with deportees being displayed as Pokémon cards.
Unclear if the honchos at Pokémon are considering any other options here — sometimes lawsuits are involved — this is all the company is saying for now.
Tuesday night, podcaster and comedian Theo Von issued a similar gripe, telling DHS to remove his face from a promo video.
