On Tuesday, September 26, 2023, a looting spree went down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The mob visited seven locations, and most of the event was live-streamed on Instagram. The person who streamed the event has since been identified as Dayjia “Meatball” Blackwell, a social media influencer. Affected stores included Apple, Footlocker, and Lululemon, among others. The mob allegedly formed due to a judge’s earlier decision to drop the charges against Mark Dial. Dial, a former Philadelphia police officer, was previously detained after fatally shooting Mr. Eddie Irizarry on August 14, 2023.
After his court hearing, the judge dismissed all charges against Dial. This decision allegedly incited the mob, encouraging them to continue the looting. Following the events on Tuesday night, Blackwell was taken into police custody. She is not alone, however, as over 50 others have also been detained for their involvement in the looting.
Who Is Dayjia “Meatball” Blackwell?
Dayjia Blackwell is a 21-year-old Instagram influencer. Not a lot of background information about her exists online. Before the looting incident, she was relatively unknown beyond the shores of social media. Since the Philly looting, however, her name and face have been plastered all over the internet. Whether she was born and raised in Philadelphia is unknown, but she resides there right now. She also lives with her mother and probably more of her family.
Per her Instagram bio, Blackwell is an actress, influencer, and dancer. She currently has over 190k followers and popularly goes by the nickname Meatball. Her Instagram posts date back to March 2022, and she seems to have been an influencer since then. Additionally, Meatball owns a brand called “Aint Nuffin.” The brand sells beanies and boasts over 33k followers on Instagram as of this time.
Why Was Dayjia Blackwell Arrested?
As aforementioned, on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, a judge ruled for the charges against former police officer Mark Dial to be dropped. Soon after, a peaceful protest was organized outside City Hall. This was due to many residents believing the judge’s decision was unjust. The protest allegedly ended around 7:30 p.m., and a large number of the crowd dispersed. The looting subsequently began, and Blackwell allegedly played a significant part. The rising influencer rallied young people through her Instagram, instructing them to gather on Walnut Street in Philadelphia.
Consequently, the looting started around 8:00 p.m., and Blackwell gleefully documented most of it in an Instagram Live. She followed the mob through the city, showing them stealing from liquor shops, an Apple Store, and more. Additionally, the crowd wreaked havoc throughout the city as they stole merchandise and destroyed property. The Philadelphia police eventually arrived at the scene and arrested Blackwell mid-livestream.
Aftermath
In a statement following the event, the police said they believed the looting was unrelated to the earlier protest over Eddie Irizarry’s fatal shooting. John Stanford, the Interim Philadelphia Police Commissioner, said, “What we had tonight was a bunch of criminal opportunists take advantage of a situation and make an attempt to destroy our city.” Dayjia Blackwell was subsequently charged with multiple felonies, including burglary, conspiracy, criminal mischief, riot, and disorderly conduct.
