Florida man charged after drag racing event on Fort Pitt Bridge
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A second person is facing charges after drivers were drag racing on the Fort Pitt Bridge last week.
In a release on Monday, state police said 24-year-old Graham Liberal of Florida was charged with riot, recklessly endangering another person, disorderly conduct and pedestrians walking on a highway.
More than four dozen cars and possibly upward of 300 people took over the bridge around 3 a.m. on Friday morning. They blocked incoming traffic coming into the city through the Fort Pitt Tunnel.
On Saturday, police announced charges against Jason Stotlemyer. Officials say he was behind the wheel of a burgundy Jeep Grand Cherokee that took off from the scene when police arrived. State police say he hit a marked police cruiser and nearly ran over troopers. A warrant is out for his arrest.
State police say Liberal was visiting the area this weekend "planning these car meets for his social media content." He was arrested Monday at the airport.
He is known for his car videos on social media and set up Friday's event on the bridge, police said.
"We are looking at a bunch of different groups right now, just because of the impact some of the influencers have coming into the area with car meets or pits circling," Pennsylvania State Police Troop B Public Information Officer Rocco Gagliardi said. "You tend to see a bunch of groups hop in together, especially if you are going to take over a bridge, which we can't have happen."
Liberal, who goes by the name "Mr. Gotdamnit" on YouTube, has videos with tens of thousands of views. State police say he promoted coming to Pittsburgh on social media before the event on the bridge.
Last year in August, authorities in Las Vegas arrested him and another man for allegedly doing a car meet-up there.
Police said illegal drag racing is happening in cities across the country but has never taken over an entire bridge. They said their investigation is far from over.
