Los Angeles Scientology Center Removes Handles From Its Doors To Combat Viral Speed Run Challenges (Video)

The Church of Scientology has gone to great lengths to maintain a veil of secrecy since its creator introduced the world to his new religion in the 1950s. It’s faced an uphill battle in that quest since the rise of the internet, and one outpost in Los Angeles has taken the handles off its doors to combat clout chasers who’ve gone viral for trying to infiltrate its walls.

I feel like most people who are familiar with Scientology are aware it can be traced back to L. Ron Hubbard, the struggling science fiction writer who decided to pivot to creating a religion founded on the principles of the philosophy he dubbed “Dianetics.”

He officially founded the Church of Scientology in 1953 and began to grow his flock of followers, most of whom were lured in by talks and personality tests that served as a gateway to a belief system that’s positioned as a venue to promote personal improvement and self-actualization.

The religion, which has attracted notable celebrities including Tom Cruise and John Travolta, is known for being shrouded in both secrecy and controversy. Actress and former Scientologist Leah Remini hosted a lengthy television series chronicling well-documented allegations of abuse, harassment, and blackmail, which aired a year after HBO released Going Clear, the 2015 documentary based on a book of the same name that also featured testimony from former members who shared similar stories.

Scientology has recently managed to attract the attention of some young people who’ve managed to go viral by attempting to get a peek behind the curtain at a center in Hollywood, and it may now be attracting the attention of fire marshals based on the route it’s taken to fight back.

A Scientology information center in Hollywood removed the handles from its doors to prevent viral “speed runs”

On March 30th, the user behind the now-deleted TikTok account with the handle @5.0arrodo filmed himself bursting into one of the Scientology centers located on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, which sparked a bit of a trend among largely Gen Z copycats who’ve decided to follow suit over the past month.

Last week, the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a call that claimed 50 people stormed into the building on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and McCadden Place (police determined that number was actually seven), and the speed runs have been fueled by online detectives who’ve tried to harness them to put together a map of the building’s interior.

However, they’ll have a harder time completing it based on a new development at the center in question, as someone who walked by it earlier this week noticed the door handles on the outside had been removed in a video that appeared to show the building was also locked by a chain from the inside.

The Scientology bldgs in Hollywood have now removed all their door handles and chained the doors shut from the inside in attempt to stop the viral speedruns🥴 pic.twitter.com/sjgIHykbHx

— Jessica Palmadessa (@JessPalmadessa) April 27, 2026

It goes without saying that is a major fire code violation, and plenty of people were quick to point that out in the comments while tagging the Los Angeles Fire Department for good measure.

As a result, it seems like there’s a good chance that solution may end up being a temporary one, but we’ll have to wait and see how things play out.