As 200 draw police ire in Brisbane, why are people ‘speed running’ Scientology churches?
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Over the weekend, Brisbane’s Church of Scientology became the latest target of a viral trend that began in the United States just a few months ago: the Scientology speed run.
Expecting a potential attempt at trespass on church property, Queensland police stationed a number of officers outside the church’s George Street headquarters on Saturday and were expecting about a dozen people to turn up.
But they were quickly overwhelmed by what turned out to be a crowd of more than 200.
The chaotic scenes that unfolded included a person on a bike riding over the top of a police car while two others gained entry to an unlocked police vehicle.
A 15-year-old Varsity Lakes boy and an 18-year-old Deception Bay man have since been charged over the disturbance.
Acting Chief Superintendent Simon Taylor said police had launched an “extensive investigation through social media” to identify the main perpetrators behind the stunt, which police labelled intimidation.
‘Real-world social media challenge’
Much like the anticlimactic “Storm Area 51” event in the US, which more than 2 million Facebook users signed up to (and only about 150 were reported to have actually attended), the Scientology speed run is an example of mass participation being used to “storm” a location considered secretive.
The trend kicked off in March when a TikTok user posted a video of himself running deep inside the Church of Scientology Information Centre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.
A follow up-video attracted more than 90 million views before it was taken down.
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Content retrieved from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-11/scientology-speed-running-church-brisbane-event/106664582.
