Cologne (NRW) – With their swanky carts, they raced through the middle of Cologne on May 1, 2021 – right in front of a police patrol. On Wednesday, the YouTube stars Fritz Meinecke and Niklas G. received the receipt. And it turned out juicy!
Hard-hitting judgment before the District Court of Cologne.
Fritz Meinecke from Magdeburg presents himself on YouTube as a car fan and adventurer
Meinecke (around 1.9 million subscribers to the YouTube channel) was sentenced to a fine of 60,000 euros the day after his 33rd birthday. Because of an illegal race and because he also put a video of the police operation on the Internet. One of his co-drivers was filming at the time.
In the video that Meinecke put online of the police operation, the two speeding vehicles were made unrecognizable
The fine for friend Niklas G. (25, 150,000 subscribers) was significantly lower at 3480 euros.
Cologne’s Niklas G. (25) does not get his confiscated driver’s license back
Particularly sensitive for both defendants: the court considers them unfit to drive motor vehicles. As a result, they will not get their driver’s licenses confiscated after the race back. You’ll have to redo the rag, could start right away.
The influencers get their confiscated cars back
At least they get their cars back, which have also been confiscated. Cold consolation without a driver’s license…
Defense attorneys demanded acquittals
In the process, the influencers had denied having run a race. Their defense attorneys demanded acquittals.
Niklas G., known as “Niekbeats”, likes to talk about his views on life on YouTube
But the eyewitness accounts of the police officers driving directly behind them at the time and their video material convinced the court. The film shows, among other things, how Niklas G. in the Tesla 3 (up to 513 hp) rapidly overtakes Meinecke’s Audi RS3 (up to 400 hp).
The judge reminded the influencers on Wednesday of their role model function. Meinecke did not hear the appeal. As on previous days of the trial, he was not on site. That too did not make a good impression on the public prosecutor and the court.
The judgments are not yet final.
Who are the YouTubers?
▶︎ Fritz Meinecke from Magdeburg is a trained automotive mechatronics technician and bank clerk. On YouTube, he presents himself as a car fan and adventurer. In 2016 he was co-moderator of comedian Wigald Boning (54) in the series “Die Geschichtsjäger” (History). As a talk guest he was u. a. with Markus Lanz (ZDF).
︎ Niklas G. from Cologne calls himself “Niekbeats” and chats on YouTube about his views of life. On Instagram (120,000 followers) he shows himself as a fashion boy.