(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Social-media influencer Dayjia Blackwell, who goes by the pseudonym “Meatball,” has reportedly been charged with eight crimes in the wake of the recent Philadelphia, Pennsylvania riots.
The law enforcement publication Law Officer reported Thursday that the riots, led by minority teenagers, were triggered by the dropping of murder charges against a former Philadelphia police officer.
The officer, Mark Dial, shot and killed Eddie Irizarry last month after Irizarry brandished a knife at Dial during a traffic stop.
The crowd reportedly looted and ransacked a liquor store, a Foot Locker, a Lululemon and an Apple store, among others.
And there, filming the whole thing and encouraging the rioters, was “Meatball.”
“Tell the police they’re either gonna lock me up tonight, or it’s gonna get lit, it’s gonna be a movie,” she said while livestreaming the event.
“This is what happens when we don’t get justice in this city,” she continued, filming dozens of people robbing a liquor store.
“Everybody must eat!” she added.
In perhaps the most telling moment of the livestream, Meatball alerted her fellow rioters to the fact that there were “free iPhones” available.
View this post on Instagram
After allegedly partaking in the looting and theft herself, Blackwell, who posted the videos for her 190,000 Instagram followers and nearly half a million TikTok followers, was arrested.
She posted the $25,000 bail soon thereafter, but later took to social media afterwards to describe how she is a “good person,” noting that she was “traumatized” by her experience as a rioter.
“I’ve never been through nothing like that ever in my life, I don’t even know what happened. I need some sleep, I’m scared, I’m traumatized, never again in my life, like seriously,” said Blackwell.
Blackwell has been charged with six felonies and two misdemeanors.
“I am an innocent person, bro,” she claimed, adding, “I’m a businesswoman.”
Despite her
According to interim Police Commissioner John Stanford, the looting picked up a great deal of momentum via social-media influencers like Meatball.
“We were able to link some things on social media,” he said at a press conference.
“We had a group that was making their way through the city. Quite naturally, you have followers who are going to see this and start to come out, and think they have an opportunity to get something.”
