{"id":702316,"date":"2026-05-29T14:13:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T14:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/702316\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T14:13:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T14:13:12","slug":"brisbane-teenager-accused-of-using-a-police-car-as-a-bmx-ramp-in-viral-stunt-at-scientology-church-brisbane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/702316\/","title":{"rendered":"Brisbane teenager accused of using a police car as a BMX ramp in viral stunt at Scientology church | Brisbane"},"content":{"rendered":"

A social media stunt that treats churches like video games has gone from TikTok to the dock, landing an alleged teenage \u201cspeedrunner\u201d in court.<\/p>\n

Zeppelin Witheridge, 18, has been accused of using a police car as a BMX ramp after a viral challenge went awry at the Church of Scientology in Brisbane\u2019s CBD.<\/p>\n

Chaotic scenes erupted after hundreds of people gathered at the church for a \u201cScientology speedrun\u201d on 9 May.<\/p>\n

The social media trend involves people racing into Scientology buildings to see how far they can get before security catches up, then uploading the footage for everyone to rate.<\/p>\n

In gaming, a \u201cspeedrun\u201d is about clearing a level as fast as possible. A \u201cScientology speedrun\u201d treats real-world buildings like maps, security guards as non-playable characters and doorways as checkpoints, with likes and shares as the prize.<\/p>\n

But it was \u201cgame over\u201d soon after about 200 self-styled speedrunners descended on the Brisbane church.<\/p>\n

After discovering the front door was locked, their attention allegedly shifted to the next potential challenge \u2013 police who had gathered outside.<\/p>\n

Witheridge is accused of launching his bike up and over a patrol car\u2019s bonnet as onlookers whooped, filmed and posted while others jumped into the vehicle, sending the stunt viral.<\/p>\n

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No one was arrested at the time but the viral footage led to charges for Witheridge, who is part of the so-called Ween Crew, a Brisbane-based freestyle BMX group that posts its antics on social media.<\/p>\n

The Brisbane stunt was part of a rolling global fad that started in Los Angeles and has since popped up in London, Edinburgh, New York and Vancouver.<\/p>\n

Each time a local Scientology centre was targeted for a \u201cspeedrun\u201d, with participants swapping tips online, trading building layouts like cheat sheets and masking up in hoodies and face coverings before dashing inside.<\/p>\n

The Church of Scientology has labelled the behaviour \u201corganised trespass\u201d and harassment, saying some stunts have caused damage and minor injuries to staff.<\/p>\n

Some centres have gone so far as to remove exterior door handles in a bid to curb the trend.<\/p>\n

In Brisbane, the online challenge had very real consequences for Witheridge who appeared in the Brisbane magistrates court on Friday.<\/p>\n

He has been charged with public nuisance, driving a particular vehicle without due care and failure to wear a helmet riding a bike.<\/p>\n

After arriving at court with his mother, Witheridge\u2019s matter was briefly mentioned and adjourned to 24 June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A social media stunt that treats churches like video games has gone from TikTok to the dock, landing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":702317,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-702316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=702316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/702317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=702316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=702316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=702316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}