A group of youths forced their way into a Scientology church in New York on Saturday in the latest in a string of nationwide “speed running” incidents that have gone viral on social media in recent weeks.
The group broke through a locked door to gain entry to the Church of Scientology on West 36th Street in Manhattan, throwing objects, damaging the property and injuring a staff member as worshippers and visitors attended a seminar, the church said in a statement to the Guardian.
The injured member of staff required medical attention, the church said, and another was subjected to a racial slur.
“This was not a peaceful visit or lawful protest. It was a coordinated act involving forced entry, property damage, and physical aggression inside a house of worship,” the statement added.
It comes as throngs of mostly adolescent boys and young men have been rushing the Church of Scientology’s international headquarters on Hollywood Boulevard in recent weeks, with clips of the so-called “speed runs” amassing millions of views on TikTok.
“Some online have referred to these incidents as ‘speed running.’ In reality, they involve organized trespasses into religious and public information facilities for social media attention,” the church said in its statement.
“Church facilities are peaceful spaces designed to welcome parishioners, visitors and members of the public. Turning them into targets for viral stunts is not journalism, protest or civic activity. It is trespass, harassment, and disruption of religious spaces.
“The Church welcomes lawful visitors. It does not welcome individuals forcing entry, damaging property, threatening or injuring people, or targeting religious facilities for online attention,” it added.
No arrests have been made in connection to Saturday’s incident and the church said it was cooperating with the New York police department as its investigation continues.
Following a similar “large-scale incident” in Los Angeles on 25 April, in which “dozens of individuals” forced their way into the church’s facilities, knocking down staff members in the process, church officials said they were “reviewing all available remedies” and had made reports to law enforcement.
At least one staff member sustained injuries in that incident that required medical attention from the incidents, the church said.
Los Angeles police have received five reports of trespassing incidents – two of which appeared correlated to speed-running attempts, the Los Angeles Times reported in April.
The trend appears to have been started by an 18-year-old content creator with the handle Swhileyy. In March he posted a video on Instagram, which has since been removed, showing himself breaching the property. Swhileyy, who has not been publicly identified, has since distanced himself from the trend.
“I do not condone what I did, even though I didn’t break any laws,” he told the Hollywood Reporter last week. “I never once in any video or any comment section or anywhere promoted the idea of running through there or beating my record.”
Founded by the sci-fi writer L Ron Hubbard in the 1950s, Scientology has long been the subject of fierce public scrutiny, controversy and speculation. Many celebrities, including Tom Cruise and John Travolta, belong to the church, which has an outsize presence in Los Angeles.
Defectors, including the actor Leah Remini, have accused the church of fostering a culture of abuse. In 2023, Remini sued the church and its leader, David Miscavige, for harassment, defamation, surveillance and other unlawful behavior resulting in “psychological torture”.
She recently weighed in on the “speed running” trend, calling it “unhelpful”.
“If someone is brainwashed for years into believing the outside world is filled with dangerous lunatics who wish to impede Scientology, a group of people running through a Scientology building is only going to confirm that belief and lead them to dedicate themselves even more to the cause they believe in,” she wrote on X.
“Please focus on exposing the dangers of Scientology, not making a spectacle out of it.”
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