Hundreds of followers of YouTuber WhistlinDiesel assembled onto the steps of the DeKalb County Courthouse last Wednesday to show their support after he was written a citation from TWRA during a recent outing on Center Hill Lake. Followers traveled from several states to show their support, including Oklahoma, Michigan, North Dakota, Iowa and others with some even driving a lengthy 17-hours from Connecticut. Local fans, of course, joined the assembly as well. He has over 3.7 million followers on his YouTube channel.
Cody Detwiler’s, 23, incident occurred a couple of weeks ago near Hurricane Bridge, where he was out with a video crew videoing one of his latest stunts, attempting to power a flat-bottom Jon boat with an industrial electric shop fan.
WhistlinDiesel and his #GoodContentGang are known for producing dangerous car stunt videos with big trucks, destroying the vehicles in the process. His YouTube channel has over 600 million views with 3.7 million subscribers.
In the video on Center Hill Lake (www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwrBoNWUFqs), WhistlinDiesel and his friends are seen swamping the Jon boat and creating a wake in a “No Wake” zone near the launch ramp, where other watercraft are nearby. The crew then get into an altercation with another boater, who turned out to be an off-duty Putnam County officer.
The men are seen exchanging insults, before the video cuts to another encounter on the lake a few minutes later, this time between WhistlinDiesel and a patrolling Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency boat.
WhistlinDiesel, now on a jet ski, and his friends, now on a ski boat, are questioned by TWRA officers, who inspect the number of lifejackets on board the boat, checking for a working fire extinguisher, and asking for IDs to check for underage drinking. The boat was finally cleared, but WhistlinDiesel and another Jet Ski rider were cited for no boater registration and reckless operation for spraying the boat, or turning the Jet Ski so water would splash onto the boat and its passengers.
“I got a citation for, the definition was splashing with a jet ski,” Cody Detwiler told the Review. “So, obviously I don’t know if that’s illegal at this point, because I just moved here and had never been out there.”
Detwiler, who moved near Franklin, Tennessee from Indiana less than a year ago, was unaware he needed a boater permit while on the lake.
“We were just out having fun,” he said. “Basically, long story short, we got pulled over. I didn’t realize you had to have a boater’s permit if you’re born after a certain date. Basically they charged me with reckless operation from splashing, reckless driving. But that didn’t affect me, because I didn’t have a boater’s license anyway.
“So there was an officer from another county, claiming to be an officer, and he was behaving not so professionally, I guess. So that’s kind of what started everything off on the wrong foot. And, then the fact that right after he threatens to call the TWRA they pull up 10-minute later and charge us with a bunch of stuff. There is such a thing as a warning for that type of stuff; if someone knew better beforehand, maybe but we had no clue.”
On his YouTube channel, WhistlinDiesel specified that he did not have a problem with DeKalb County or Smithville, saying, “I want to specify the officer here is from Putnam County, TN, not DeKalb County. The DeKalb County Sheriffs Department has been extremely professional and respectful through the situation.”
The original General Sessions Court date of June 1, had been rescheduled due to the Memorial Day holiday and the judge being out of town, to Wednesday, June 8. Followers were unaware of the change and told the Smithville Review that they would be back to show their support on the revised date.
Detwiler sang praises of his followers on hand, though in large number with picket signs remained peaceful.
“Several hundred people came out, and I appreciate everyone’s support. But, I’m really glad there’s like a positive turnout; very little negativity. I never aim for any sort of negativity. I want to push a positive message, but at the same time if you feel like something is wrong anyone should stand up for what they think is right in a respectful way. So that’s what we’re trying to do. “
With court being rescheduled Detwiler said he and his followers were headed to the lake to have some fun and hopefully not get pulled over or arrested.
He complimented our small town saying he had never been here before, but it seemed like a down-to-earth, tightknit small town and everyone was extremely polite.
Before heading out, he again thanked everyone for being respectful and trying to push a positive message.
