Qatari prince flees U.S. after his Ferrari was filmed drag-racing through Beverly Hills


Last weekend, Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad al Thani, a member of Qatar's ruling family, was apparently caught on video speeding through the streets of Beverly Hills in a very expensive yellow Ferrari LeFerrari, followed by a white Porsche 911 GT3. When police approached him, al Thani told them that he had diplomatic immunity and denied driving recklessly, according to Beverly Hills police. You can judge for yourself, but be warned, there is profanity in the video:
It turns out, Beverly Hills Police Chief Dominick Rivetti said at a news conference on Thursday, al Thani does not have diplomatic immunity, adding that his police will apply the law equally regardless of "who you are, who you know, or where you are from." Al Thani, a noted drag-racing enthusiast, didn't stick around, the Los Angeles Times reports, leaving the country with his expensive luxury sports cars apparently in tow. He might have gotten off on a technicality, though. "No one produced any evidence of who was at the wheel of the two cars," says Lt. Lincoln Hoshino. "The drivers weren't visible on the videos or photographs."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
August 30 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump's role reversal and King George III
-
5 bullseye cartoons about the reasons for mass shootings
Cartoons Artists take on gun worship, a price paid, and more
-
Lisa Cook and Trump's battle for control the US Fed
Talking Point The president's attempts to fire one of the Federal Reserve's seven governor is represents 'a stunning escalation' of his attacks on the US central bank
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
A long weekend in Zürich
The Week Recommends The vibrant Swiss city is far more than just a banking hub
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle