Grand Theft Auto Online’s roleplaying community is known for its drama. It isn’t just the inherent drama of roleplaying, either. It’s the viral popularity ofGTA RPservers leading to communities of dedicated RPers clashing with major Twitch streamers, among other things. That’s why it’s unsurprising that a recent in-character election taking place on the New DayGTA RPserver when entertainingly off the rails. It surrounds the Governor’s election between candidates Andrew McKinley and Charlie Bradstock.
According to Polygon, everything went wrong on the day of the election. Though perhaps the entire thing was doomed from the beginning. The character of Charlie Bradstock is an arms company heir and, like mostGTA RPcharacters, isn’t always on the right side of the law. Even still, Bradstock being arrested ahead of the vote, and being captured by a reporter on-site, shocked the entire New Day community.
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Bradstock had been arrested for charges of battery and ultimately pleaded no contest, sending him to jail.Out-of-character, pleading no contest is a common event that players use to rush the trial process and get their time imprisoned hurried along. In-universe, the reporter’s coverage of Bradstock’s arrest and jailing led to a furor among citizens. Things only got worse when the police department only publicly acknowledged the arrest in response to a growing crowd.
The situation blew out of control, with accusations that Bradstock’s opponent McKinley had manufactured false accusations in partnership with Bradstock’s ex-wife, protests against police, #FreeBradstock hashtags, and an otherwise great day for roleplay. The drama surrounding the situation built up the mystery surrounding the election in a way that could otherwise not have been achieved. It was also completely appropriate for aGTA RPevent, though.
Then, following a day ofGTA RPinsanity, the server held an otherwise normal and well-executed election. McKinley cleanly defeated Bradstock, even with all of the accusations of corruption and fraud. As for Bradstock, the unscrupulous arms industry heir likely heavily benefited from the election despite the loss, whether it’s newly built business partnerships or simply the infamy that he built by being a part of such an attention-grabbing event. And all it took was getting arrested for battery the morning before the election. It’s just another example of what’s madeGrand Theft AutoRP such a popular experience.
Grand Theft Auto Onlineis available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
