YouTubers often do crazy things to get views, and the stunts sometimes run afoul of the law. Alex Choi, a popular content creator and social media personality, recently found the limits of the law the hard way. He was arrested for a video posted last year in which people in a helicopter shot fireworks at a Lamborghini.
The 24-year-old is charged with causing the placement of an explosive or incendiary device on an aircraft. He made his first court appearance yesterday. If he’s convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, with charges stemming from Choi’s alleged lack of a permit to film and carry fireworks in a helicopter.
In the now-deleted video, Choi drove the Lamborghini while two women in the helicopter shot fireworks at the car. He said he coordinated the shoot and was listed in the credits as a director, so it will be hard to deny that he had a part. There’s no word on charges for others in the video, but the FAA revoked the helicopter pilot’s license for the stunt.
Choi is no stranger to auto-related stunts and controversy. In 2022, he hosted a Tesla meetup in which a person jumped a Model S. He filmed the stunt and posted it to YouTube, capturing the driver hitting a parked car. They also allegedly had passengers and a stray cat in the Tesla at the time.
Choi is well-known in tuner circles, as he’s been involved in several social media drag races and other events. He raced a 1,000-horsepower Lamborghini Huracán against an 800-horsepower Dodge Polara on Hoonigan’s YouTube channel a couple of years ago and has been known to do crazy things with expensive cars for views, though this stunt might be one that causes him to think twice going forward.