from Mainstream Media
“As soon as they said City Hall, I knew all hell was going to break loose,” said a 19-year-old who “slides” in a black Camaro.
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Dressed in banana suits, Donald Trump masks, and green alien costumes, hundreds of people descended on Philadelphia during the weekend for a series of car meetups — a night of mayhem participants have dubbed “Project X” online and that resulted in police officers being surrounded and, in some cases, attacked in their cars.
Law enforcement said the meetups, which included people drag racing, doing doughnuts, and exploding fireworks, spanned the city, with at least 11 events from the Northeast to Southwest to right outside City Hall. Across more than seven hours Saturday night and into Sunday morning, police trailed the groups in what they described as a game of “whack-a-mole,” arriving just in time for the crowds to rapidly disperse, then move to a new location.
In multiple instances, including around 4:30 a.m. in front of City Hall, responding police were greatly outnumbered by the crowds that in some places lit fires in the streets. Videos shared on Instagram showed dozens of people surrounding one officer’s car, jumping onto the hood and hanging off the back while filming themselves. People threw traffic cones into the officer’s windshield and at one point, opened the cruiser’s back door. Another video showed a small number of baton-wielding officers running through smoke-filled streets as people fled in all directions. Most appeared to have escaped.
The scenes quickly went viral online and became talking points for Republicans. The GOP-controlled House Judiciary Committee posted on X that “you’re not safe in Democrat-run Philadelphia,” and Elon Musk shared the video, saying it resembled a scene from The Joker.
In total, five police cars were damaged through the night, police said, and one 39th District officer suffered minor injuries after his vehicle was struck by another car, which then fled the scene.
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Car meetups, also known as “takeovers” or “slide shows,” aren’t new or unique to Philly and they’ve been going on for years. But police said the events this past weekend went beyond what they typically encounter in size, scope, and aggression and that they believe it was in retaliation for the department’s heightened efforts in recent months to arrest and fine those who participate.
Police said they arrested only three people across Saturday night and Sunday morning. Jhonny Martinez, a 19-year-old from Upper Darby, was charged with recklessly endangering another person after police said he crashed into a pole at Third Street and Pattison Avenue in South Philadelphia while fleeing officers. He has been released from custody on his own recognizance, according to court records.
Two teens were also arrested and issued code violation notices, police said. Officials declined to name them because they are juveniles.
Police said 15 spectators were cited and nine were fined under the city’s nuisance car ordinance — which carries a $2,500 penalty — in Southwest Philadelphia.
How the meetups work
The meetup was organized with drivers, or “sliders,” from across the region, from New York to North Carolina and Virginia, as a final ode to summer, said a 19-year-old from Long Island who drives a black Camaro. He asked not to be identified so he could speak openly about the illegal racing scene, which he has participated in for about five years.
The event, like most meets, was organized through Instagram stories, he said, and was called “Project X,” a nod to the 2012 film about high schoolers who host an unruly party.
“That was probably one of the biggest meets we’ve had on the East Coast in like two years,” he said of the turnout.
It was Philly’s spectators who sowed chaos, he said, adding that he and other drivers have tried to discourage people from lighting fires and fireworks. It gives the thrill-seeking hobby a bad rap, he said.
“We don’t like that, we yell at people. There’s been fights multiple times because of it,” he said of the spectators’ behavior. “In every other state, we do the same [stuff]. But these guys in Philly … we call them crash outs.”
He said that they moved to multiple locations through the night in their cars, and that he was surprised by the limited police response at each location.
“As soon as they said City Hall, I knew all hell was going to break loose,” he said.
Another man, who described himself as an independent journalist who films the meetups, said drivers “want somewhere to do this legally with no repercussions.” The man, who asked not to be identified to discuss events that are illegal, said many racing tracks have restrictions or are shutting down, making it “hard to find a place to keep this off the streets.”
Law enforcement wasn’t sympathetic, and said they were reviewing camera footage and social media posts to identify the people involved.
“This is not a victimless crime,” said Adam Geer, Philadelphia’s director of public safety. “They’re putting people’s lives in danger.”
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