Video Report by Councilmember Cole on Military Training Goes Viral

Wednesday’s U.S. Army urban warfare training exercise at the former St. Luke Hospital not only rattled residents across Pasadena neighborhoods, it went viral nationally on social media.

Councilmember Rick Cole posted six videos from the scene, beginning at 8 p.m. While each has received tens of thousands of views, one featuring footage of flash bang grenades, simulated gunfire and military helicopters dropping troops on the roof had racked up more than 6.2 million views across Instagram and TikTok by Sunday afternoon.

“During the Eaton Fire aftermath, residents told us that they found my informational videos helpful with timely explanations about evacuations, curfews, emergency aid, water restrictions and air quality,” Cole told Pasadena Now. “So it was natural when we were deluged with calls about what was going on at St. Luke that I headed over to provide video updates.”

He was unprepared, however, for their reach. The most popular video was picked up by CNN and local television stations. On TikTok it drew 3.5 million views along with 580,000 likes and nearly 10,000 comments. Instagram recorded 2.7 million views with 176,000 likes and a similar number of comments.

That video, filmed at 1 a.m., concluded with Cole reporting, “This is going to go on for a while and good luck to those who have to get up and go to work tomorrow.”

“My District Liaison Megheti DerBoghossian who is younger and so more tech savvy than I am managed to edit in vivid footage of the explosions on her phone so we could post it within about five minutes,” Cole described. “It was meant to reach the residents in our district who were asking questions. We had no clue it would go beyond our usual audience.”

The series of videos have drawn more than 3 million views to Cole’s Instagram account “rickcolepasadena.” A subsequent video congratulating his colleagues Jess Rivas, Justin Jones and Jason Lyon on their re-elections drew nearly 10 times the normal views and response. Followers for Cole’s Instagram account have more than quadrupled in the past few days.

“This surreal incident has produced a surreal reaction,” Cole noted. “The unusual circumstances of the training exercise has raised disturbing questions. Why hold this urban warfare simulation in an area recently ravaged by a catastrophic fire with little notice on a weekday in a residential neighborhood lasting until after 2 a.m.? I think the interest in what happened here — and later around the Southland — means we should seek explanations and accountability. Unfortunately, I have low expectations for getting straight answers from the politicized ‘Department of War.’ That leaves people to supply their own explanations on social media.”