Viral videos of illegal car meetups in Philadelphia gets political spin by some Republicans

Police are continuing to investigate a series of 11 illegal car meetups that took place across Philadelphia over the weekend, involving activities ranging from drag racing to setting fires in the streets. So far, police say a 19-year-old man from Upper Darby, Delaware County, has been charged with reckless endangerment.

The events, which have been widely shared on social media, gained national attention as videos from the chaotic meetups went viral. One such video, showing people swarming a police vehicle on 15th and Market streets near City Hall, was posted to X by the Republican House Judiciary Committee. The video, which has amassed more than 90 million videos, is captioned, "You're not safe in Democrat-run Philadelphia." 

The post was later re-shared by Elon Musk, who added, "Pretty sure I saw this scene in 'The Joker.'"

Political historian Brian Rosenwald, a scholar in residence at the University of Pennsylvania, said such posts are part of a larger pattern of election-cycle strategies. He said in this case, Republicans are using the scenes of "lawlessness" in order to sway voters.

"They pick the most ominous images they can come up with," Rosenwald said. He said that political parties will often link negative events to the opposing party in charge, for political gain.

"They tend to blame Democrats because who controls the city? It's Democrats. We have a Democratic district attorney, we have a Democratic mayor," he said.

The weekend's events also drew mixed reactions from residents. Herbert Sumsky, who lives in the neighborhood near the meetup on Bustleton Avenue in Northeast Philly, said he believes it's a political issue. 

"The Democratic Party, they like crime. This city used to be clean," he said. However, he added, "The new mayor is trying to do something nice by cleaning up junk cars."

Others, however, believe politics plays no role in the car meetups. 

"I don't think it has anything to do with the Republican or Democratic Party. I think it has to do with people," Philly resident Joyce Adelugba said. "There's a big motor culture here. I think if there was a meetup of any sort, it's because of the culture of the riders."

In a press conference Sunday, Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Healy said police believe participants in the illegal meet-ups were trying to send a message to Mayor Cherelle Parker's administration.

"We firmly believe that the actions [Saturday] night were in retaliation of the police department's aggressive actions that we've been taken since Mayor Parker's administration began," Healy said. "We've been attacking this problem rather heavily every weekend with a large number of officers and we believe last night was some type of retaliation of sorts."

Parker has vowed to put an end to the illegal gatherings. Following an unrelated press conference Tuesday, she said police are continuing to use "every tool in their toolbox" to investigate.

"I need Philadelphians to know that no one did something here and just got away with it," Parker said.

In:
• Delaware County
• Philadelphia