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New South Wales police have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and served two traffic infringement notices for alleged reckless operation after a large group of electric bicycle users converged on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.

The Event: An Illegal Gathering

A group of approximately 40 people operating e-bikes and motorcycles proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, where cycling is prohibited. The assembly subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the downtown area and Haymarket.

"There was a risk of people to be injured and killed," stated a senior police official the officer on Wednesday.

Law enforcement said they did not immediately pursue the riders out of concerns for public safety but rather found the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.

Fines Imposed for Influencer

On Saturday, authorities announced they had issued the US social media influencer known as the influencer, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a penalty of $562 and three demerit points each, connected to the bridge incident. They added that inquiries were continuing.

The influencer reportedly has over 3.4m subscribers on one platform and over 1.2m on the social media app.

Creator's Response

The online figure spoke with a major newspaper this week following the event spread rapidly on news sites and social media, saying he regretted giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I accept the blame. It was among the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he told the publication. "I am a visitor here, and I intend to abide by the laws and norms of the city. When I decided to do a meet and greet it was not meant to include a ride-out, it was just to greet people under the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, it was my fault 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, which is a crime. Or we reverse, essentially, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to turn around."

Broader Context on Electric Bike Rules

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

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are coming into our ERs are absolutely devastating," he stated. "We’ve got to make sure we prevent these things entering the country [and] police are granted the authority to take strong action, to confiscate them, to crush them, to destroy them."

NSW recorded over two hundred injuries related to electric bikes in the previous year. However, in the initial half of 2025, that figure surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.