Judge Orders 6 Jersey Shore Pop-Up Party Promoters To Stop; 3 Agree

LONG BRANCH, NJ — Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Lisa Thornton issued a court order telling six men who promoted Jersey Shore pop-up parties that they must stop promoting future parties in the city of Long Branch.

Wednesday's court order only applies to promoting parties in Long Branch, not any other Shore town. There are currently social media posts circulating about a pop-up party this weekend in Asbury Park, and that party so far does not appear to have been canceled, said Asbury Park Police.

In addition, Thornton ordered the six men that they all must post the following notice on their social media accounts:

“The Long Branch Beach Linkup on June 19 is CANCELLED. There will be no future 'Beach Linkups,' 'Pop-Up Parties,' or similar events without permits in the city of Long Branch. It is ILLEGAL to consume alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana on the Long Branch beach, boardwalk or surrounding public area."

Last Thursday, the city of Long Branch sued the six men and filed an emergency application for a temporary restraint to be issued against them. That's how the hearing on this matter was held so quickly, said Long Branch city attorney Lou Rainone.

One of the six men named in the lawsuit, Wavell Thompson of East Orange, already posted on his Instagram account last Friday — the day after he was sued –that two parties planned for this weekend in Long Branch and Point Pleasant Beach have been called off.

"There will be no Beach Party June 18th or 19th. Anybody in attendance may be prosecuted & have to answer to the law," Thompson wrote. "I take no responsibility in the event of any gathering, everyone stay home!!!! This is a serious matter; don't take it lightly."

Three of the men showed up in court Wednesday for the court hearing: Thompson, Jayson Glasper of Tinton Falls and Akeil Anderson, of Newark. It is unclear if they had legal representation or lawyers with them.

The other three men, Kevin J. Small, Semya Gill and Jaylen Courten, failed to appear at Wednesday's court hearing.

Rainone said he does not view this as an infringement on the mens' First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

"The judge asked them if they objected to what the city wanted them to do, and they said no," Rainone said. "This is a legitimate regulation of free speech ... This is a circumstance where people were using social media to promote an illegal event for which they did not have a permit for. Judges have the ability to tell people that they cannot advertise an illegal event. She just wanted them to undo the damage they have done. If you were advertising that a supplement cured cancer, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) would require you to stop and would also require you to advertise that it's untrue."

"If they had just gotten a permit, this would not be an issue," he added.

The men who appeared in court, Thompson, Glasper and Anderson, signed the court order agreeing they would post what the judge ordered on their social media accounts. You can read the court order, and their signatures.

All three have already posted what the judge ordered on their Instagram and TikTok accounts, said Rainone.

In their lawsuit, Long Branch also threatened to sue the men for $25,000 in damages to pay for police overtime to police the events. On Wednesday, the city said it would not seek financial damages from the six men as long as they agreed to stop promoting the parties and posted what the judge ordered.

The city of Long Branch said they viewed this as a victory.

“This is a legal victory for the city, but the work is not done,” said Mayor John Pallone, a Democrat. “We are ready to add any individuals who promote any future events without permits to our lawsuit and hold them accountable.”

“For two years, municipalities across the state have struggled to respond to this difficult and growing problem. Long Branch has shown the way forward, and now other towns are following our lead,” said Rainone.

Point Pleasant Beach filed a similar lawsuit last week, similarly asking a judge to issue a court order blocking the parties in that town; that matter was due to be heard in court at 3 p.m. Thursday, said Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Paul Kanitra.

Asbury Park Police Sgt. Michael Casey said Thursday morning that, as far as he knows, plans are still circulating for a party on their beachfront this weekend.