A San Fernando Valley man has been arrested for allegedly shooting fireworks from an in-flight helicopter while filming a YouTube video, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.
Suk Min Choi, 24, known as "Alex Choi," of Studio City, is charged with one count of causing the placement of an explosive or incendiary device on an aircraft, a federal charge carrying a possible sentence of up to 10 years behind bars, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Choi is scheduled to make his initial appearance Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles federal court. He was arrested Wednesday and his arraignment is expected in the coming weeks.
According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, last July 4, Choi posted on his YouTube channel an 11-minute video titled, "Destroying a Lamborghini with Fireworks." In the video, Choi allegedly presses a "fire missiles" button while two women are in a helicopter, shooting fireworks at a speeding Lamborghini sports car. Law enforcement believes the video was shot on the El Mirage Dry Lakebed in San Bernardino County.
After shooting what appears to be a live-action version of a scene from a fictional video game, the video transitions to a behind-the-scenes look at how Choi shot the first third of the video. During this portion of the video, Choi allegedly makes various references to himself coordinating the shoot.
In the video, Choi thanks a camera company for "being a part of my crazy stupid ideas." He also allegedly said in the video that the group that helped make the video messed up at one point "because I forgot to tell my friend how to use a torch," according to papers filed in Los Angeles federal court.
Finally, as noted in the affidavit, during the video it appears Choi made the decision to end the shoot when someone asked if they would film again, stating, "No, that's it. We're out of fireworks, right?"
In other parts of the video, Choi is seen next to the helicopter, holding what appears to be a firework, according to the affidavit.
Law enforcement believes that Choi committed the offense sometime in June 2023, that he did not have a permit to film a shoot using fireworks on a helicopter, and that he purchased the fireworks in Nevada because they were illegal in California, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
As of May 28, the video is no longer available on Choi's YouTube channel, but other videos containing footage from Choi's film can be viewed on other YouTube channels and social media accounts, according to the complaint.
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