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By Kate Fowler
Internet Culture & Trends Reporter
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One man has been dubbed a "hero" online after filming himself removing chalk from his neighbor's car wheels after they were marked by parking enforcement.
Travis Langness gained over 19 million views after sharing the video to TikTok on April 1, drawing in thousands of opinions.
Drawing chalk on wheels of parked cars is a common occurrence among police and parking inspectors, where they mark cars in order to visit hours later and know if they've moved or not.
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Langness, like many others, is not a fan of the act, and made his views on the chalk practice made popular by parking inspectors across the U.S. clear in the clip, after taking it upon himself to remove the marks left on neighbor's cars.
"Parking 'enforcement' puts chalk on people's wheels, then comes back two hours later to give them a ticket," he wrote on-screen, filming an officer walking along next to cars.
The next shot showed him filling a bucket with water and cleaning product, before dipping a towel in and wiping off the chalk on various wheels. "Happy Friday neighbors," he wrote.
Langness captioned the clip: "Be kind to your neighbors. #eattherich."
Chalking is a controversial practice and one that has even been fought out in court. The U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth District even ruled it unconstitutional twice, after one Michigan woman opened a lawsuit over being "chalked" by one officer 15 times.
The woman's case was initially dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in 2019, before she decided to appeal the verdict. It was taken to the Court of Appeals, where it was decided that chalking is a violation of the Fourth Amendment. This does not however ban the practice, but simply means the case was sent back to district court.
After a second analysis however, the Michigan court once again supported the city's motion for chalking, leading to yet another appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth District. For a second time, the court ruled in 2021 that chalking goes against the Fourth Amendment.
The legality and potential consequences of wiping off the chalk on a tire is also unclear and hard to define, meaning it's not recommended that viewers take inspiration from the TikTok video.
With such back and forth even in the U.S. court system, TikTok comments were an even more amped up situation. TikTok users were somewhat split over Langness' fight against chalking, but many were left expressing support.
"Not all heroes wear capes," wrote one user.
"You sir are doing the lord's work," added another.
"Give this man the Nobel Peace Prize," commented a TikTok viewer.
Others however weren't so sold, citing a potential need for parking restrictions. "That's why people complain there's no parking. Nobody moves," commented one user.
Langness however defended his decision, explaining that "there was plenty of parking all up and down the street."
"If the penalty for a crime is a fine then that law only exists for the lower class," he concluded.
Newsweek has contacted Langness for comment.
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