Long Branch Sues 6 New Jersey Men For Promoting Mass Pop-Up Parties

LONG BRANCH, NJ — The city of Long Branch has now sued six online party promoters for advertising the notorious pop-up parties that caused thousands of young people to descend on Long Branch this June and last year.

More parties are planned for June 18 and 19 in Long Branch and Point Pleasant Beach.

Attorneys for the city say these six men named below are the key people who used their social media accounts, such as Instagram and TikTok, to spread word of the public gatherings. The parties are called "Beach Linkup" and the invites say: "BWOW bring your own weed, BWOL bring your own liquor. Music, eats, fun, dance battles, $1,000 twerk contest."

None of the gatherings obtained a permit.

The lawsuit especially singles out Wavell Thompson (@percc30dick), an East Orange resident, who "clearly added his username to at least one of last year’s flyers prior to posting it," read the suit. "Using social media to spread flyers advertising the event and generate word-of-mouth awareness, these individuals, in particular Mr. Thompson, organized and encouraged as many attendees as possible to come to Long Branch to drink, use drugs, fight and generally behave in a disorderly manner."

The lawsuit is publicly available here. The six men named as defendants are:

• Wavell Thompson, dba/aka “@percc30_dickk” and “@percc30dick," with a last known address of East Orange "This individual has utilized multiple accounts on different social media networks including Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook to promote these events and encourage the destruction of property, fighting, public consumption of drugs and alcohol and other illegal activities," read the lawsuit. "Based on various postings from these accounts, it appears that Mr. Thompson is one of the individuals responsible for a previous similar event in the city of Long Branch."
• Kevin J. Small, dba/aka “@_young_bishop," currently believed to reside in Middlesex borough
• Jayson S. Glasper, dba/aka “@jay.duhgoat," currently believed to reside in Tinton Falls
• Akeil T. Anderson, dba/aka “kilsosouth” and “kilsosouth2x," currently believed to reside in Newark
• Semya Gill, dba/aka “@myaaimani2.0," whose address is unknown
• A minor

On May 21 — the first warm Saturday night of the 2022 summer season — more than 5,000 young people gathered in Long Branch; eleven adults and four juveniles were arrested for fighting and vandalism and the windows of a Long Branch police cruiser were smashed in. Many fights broke out — some of them extremely violent and bloody — thousands of teens and young adults were drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana on the boardwalk; there was drag racing and "twerking contests," said eyewitnesses. This video shows what appears to be the worst of the fighting (warning, graphic content): https://www.facebook.com/mborr...

When a similar pop-up party was hosted in Long Branch last June, the windows of a 7-11 were smashed in.

Many Pier Village restaurants closed early on May 21, and some eyewitnesses said they were scared the sheer number of people could quickly descend into riot conditions.

Long Branch Mayor John Pallone, a Democrat, previously threatened to sue TikTok for allowing word of the parties to spread; he has not filed any lawsuit yet.

But with Thursday's lawsuit, filed in Monmouth County Superior Court, he wants these six men to reimburse the city $25,000 for overtime and "extraordinary expense" of having to bring in so many outside law enforcement agencies to deal with the May 21 crowds.

“The organizers of this event necessitated a large police response and eventual cleanup of the public areas at Pier Village, costing city taxpayers approximately $25,000," said Pallone Thursday. "Their actions have also harmed our city’s businesses and reputation. So, they should be held responsible."

"Our city is open to all kinds of events, but we also have rules to keep people safe," Pallone added. "If you want to have a gathering, apply for a special event permit. Don’t drink alcohol in public or smoke on our beaches. Don’t engage in disorderly conduct. The organizers of the May 21 event broke all those rules. That is why it is so important that we hold them accountable.”

In the suit, Long Branch city attorney Louis Rainone specifically argues that these six men sought to make money by hosting the large parties.

"These flyers promote, encourage and entice individuals to be a part of these events so that they too can share in the media hype surrounding the incidents and can engage in illegal activity, including fighting and dancing for prize money and the consumption of alcohol and marijuana in public areas," Rainone argued. "The flyer also advertises music, food, fun, dance battles and a $1,000 twerk contest. Other flyers have also advertised boxing matches and similar dangerous activities .... It is clear that the organizers of these events have no concern for the safety of their attendees and seek solely to capitalize on the chaos and disorder for their own commercial, personal and financial gain."

Two more "Beach Linkups" are currently being planned for June 18 and 19 in Long Branch and Point Pleasant Beach, and police in both towns said they are already bracing for the crowds.

Long Branch is currently trying to shut down invites to those parties from circulating on social media.

“Enough is enough,” said LB Public Safety Director Domingos Saldida. "These ‘viral’ parties are likely to get bigger and more dangerous until we do something about it. Hopefully, making the organizers pay the price for their behavior will deter them from putting together an unpermitted, illegal event in Long Branch in the future.”