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New South Wales police have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and handed out two driving violation citations for alleged reckless operation following a large group of electric bicycle users converged on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A gathering of approximately 40 people operating electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The assembly then turned around and traveled through the downtown area and Haymarket.

"There was a risk of serious injury or fatalities," remarked a senior police official the officer on Wednesday.

Police said they did not chase right away the group due to concerns for public safety but instead located the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

Later in the week, police stated they had served the US social media influencer who goes by the influencer, 26, with two violation tickets for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), with a fine of $562 and penalty points per notice, in relation to the bridge incident. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

The influencer is said to have over 3.4m followers on one platform and over 1.2m on Instagram.

Influencer's Comments

The content creator gave comments to a local publication this week after the incident gained traction on digital platforms, saying he regretted giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was one of the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to come here respecting the laws and norms of Sydney. When I decided to do a meet and greet it did not involve a group ride, it was just to greet people under the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, I am to blame we found ourselves on the bridge and I had a decision to make: either the group rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we reverse, essentially, before entering the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to turn around."

Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation

The increase of e-bikes on roads nationwide has sparked growing calls for regulation. A senior government official, Mark Butler, recently said that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes since the invention of the early bicycle [but] the harm that are presenting at our ERs are truly severe," the minister said. "We’ve got to make sure we stop these things coming into the country [and] police are given the authority to take strong action, to take them away, to crush them, to destroy them."

NSW reported over two hundred injuries associated with ebikes in the previous year. However, in the first seven months of 2025, that figure jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.