SAN DIEGO — A man in San Diego is turning heads on the road and social media with his truck, but it’s not because of the make and model of the car, it's what’s on it.
Jacob McGennis, 25, dubbed his truck “THOT PATROL.”
It’s a term many consider derogatory to women. We asked Jacob why he created this “THOT Patrol”. He says, “I really want to make people laugh and maybe get some internet clout off of it, so here we are.”
CBS 8 met McGennis outside his East Village home to see the truck in person.
CBS 8's Anna Laurel asked him, “Why don’t you have jerk patrol? Promiscuous men patrol? Male cheater patrol?”
“So let’s change the definition,” McGennis said. “We can change the definition. The definition isn’t solid. A THOT can be anybody.”
We asked what he’s trying to say with his patrol truck. He says, “I think there's no message other than I want people to laugh. That's all it is.”
McGennis says his truck gets a lot of attention. "Mostly smiles. Mostly thumbs up. There are some people who get a little upset with it and shake their head. I've never gotten the finger which is surprising," McGennis said.
“I knew Border Patrol used to have Ford Raptors as patrol vehicles, which inspired me to make a design that embraced that aspect of the Raptor’s history. The name 'THOT Patrol' comes from a circa-2016 internet meme I thought never got the attention it deserved,” McGennis said.
“THOT” is a new slang term that swept the nation in 2016, which referred to promiscuous people, according to Complex Magazine.
“I did the first version of the design on my truck in June of 2021- since then, I’ve revised the design a bunch of times, made unique THOT Patrol-themed designs for two of my other cars, and sold dozens of THOT Patrol vehicle wrap kits to people around the world,” McGennis detailed.
McGennis says he has never had any negative run-ins with law enforcement regarding the scheme of his truck and that it has helped him make new friends who work in law enforcement.
He says, “They’ve always been very positive and they like it and they take pictures. Since I am right on the border of the law but I am within it, and police generally like the concept of it, I don’t get bothered.”
This week, U.S. Marshalls were outside McGennis' building in Downtown San Diego.
“I had to pull out in front of 8 federal agents. It’s the first time in a long time I’ve actually been nervous about the car because different agencies have seen it but never US Marshalls. They are very serious law enforcement. I pulled out in front of them, I had to stop at the red lights. One of their cars pulls out behind me and just stops. I think I’m going to lit up, I’m going to get pulled over for this. I look in my rearview mirror and I see the driver and take out his phone and start taking pictures of the back of the truck and I think, I’m in the clear because whenever that happens he’s taking pictures for the group chat or FB," McGennis said.
California vehicle code section 40800 states no person shall own or operate a motor vehicle painted to resemble a motor vehicle used by a peace officer or traffic officer on duty to enforce the law.
CBS 8 reached out to San Diego police, who said McGennis’s truck does not break any laws as the vehicle does not read the actual words “Border Patrol” or any other official law enforcement agency.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not respond to CBS 8’s repeated questions or requests for comment.
McGennis says, “I've done my research. I've had lawyers that looked at it. This is technically perfectly legal. It’s parody. It doesn’t say border patrol or anything like that on it.”
You can see actual border patrol trucks in the background of pictures of his truck.
He says border agents will take pictures standing at his truck all the time. His videos of his truck around town and at the border have millions of views, and he says his parody account is just getting started.
“Think about Reno 911 type parody. I'm having fun. It makes me happy to see other people happy about something I made,” McGennis said.
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