BANGOR, Pa. — Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta warned Thursday that people jumping from cliffs into a Bangor quarry can be arrested and charged after social media posts showed jumpers dropping more than 100 feet into the water.
“This is not only a dangerous and potentially life-threatening activity, but individuals can be arrested and charged for this activity,” Baratta said in a media release.
Bangor Borough police frequently respond to incidents at the quarry during the summer, “including several cases resulting in severe injuries and fatalities,” according to the release.
The release does not name the quarry, its owner, the posts or the people in them. It gives no count of injuries or deaths and does not say whether anyone has been charged.
In a story published Tuesday on the Bangor quarry, WFMZ linked a Facebook reel posted Monday and captioned “Craziest cliff jumping of 2026.” It shows young men leaping and flipping from sheer, graffiti-marked slate walls into the water below.
A reel the same account posted Saturday, captioned “This day was absolutely insane,” shows the same walls. On-screen text in both identifies the spot only as “Pennsylvania.”
As of Thursday afternoon, Facebook showed about 183,000 views on Monday’s reel and 42,000 on Saturday’s, or roughly 225,000 combined. Saturday’s reel was also posted to Instagram:
The account’s TikTok bio describes a “Freestyle Cliff jumper” based in Pennsylvania. Since June, the account has posted dozens of cliff-jumping videos to TikTok from Pennsylvania and at least seven other states, including Texas, Tennessee and Alabama.
The release does not name a charge. Under Pennsylvania’s defiant trespass law, entering or staying on property that is posted against trespass or fenced off to keep intruders out is a summary offense, the lowest-level charge under that section.
The state crimes code caps the fine for that kind of summary offense at $300. The charge becomes a third-degree misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $2,500, if a person defies an order to leave given in person by the owner or another authorized person.
Bangor Police Chief Kevin Jones gave WFMZ a higher figure.
“Defiant trespass is usually what you’ll be arrested for, which is a citation. It could range up to 500 dollars,” Jones told the station. Neither the release nor the station’s story explains the difference.
Jones also said police would deal with the man behind the video.
“Now that this gentleman is showing this and promoting it pretty much, we’ll have to address him,” Jones told WFMZ.
The problem is not new to borough officials. At a June 24, 2024, council meeting, “Chief Jones reported that he is working with Manager Reider regarding trespassing at the Quarry,” according to the meeting minutes. Stephen Reider is the borough manager. The minutes do not name the quarry.
That is the only quarry trespassing item in the council minutes and agendas the borough has posted online since January 2024.