Point Pleasant Beach Sues 2 Organizers Seeking To Halt Pop-Up Parties

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, NJ — Point Pleasant Beach officials have filed a lawsuit seeking to halt a June 18 pop-up party that has been circulating on social media as authorities look for ways to stop the events from happening in their towns.

The lawsuit, filed early Monday, seeks an injunction to force the organizers, two of whom have been identified, to call off the party and refrain from organizing future parties.

Social media postings promoting "Beach Linkup Part 2" began circulating in May just days after a pop-up party drew about 5,000 people to Long Branch that led to arrests, damage to a police car and a curfew in Long Branch.

The new flyers call for people to meet in Point Pleasant Beach on June 18 and in Long Branch on June 19, urging attendees to bring their own liquor and their own weed, and billing "twerking contests" and boxing matches.

Adult use of recreational marijuana has been legalized in New Jersey, it is illegal on the beach because the state also has a ban on smoking on the beaches.

Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Paul Kanitra blasted the organizers of the parties last week, saying they are just doing it for social media fame.

"They're just doing it to create content for Tik Toks and their Instagram accounts so they can show off to the other idiots online who watch them," he said.

"All it takes is one loser on Facebook like this guy here who thinks he's a promoter trying to look cool to his followers to create chaos and economic disasters," Kanitra said. "He created it and shared it with his followers and those idiots share it with theirs all for the purpose of just publicly partying together, destroying things and causing chaos in one big group." Read more: Point Beach Mayor Blasts Pop-Up Party 'Idiots,' State's Response

The lawsuit seeks to force two of the organizers, Wavell Thompson (@percc30dick), an East Orange resident, and Semya Gill (@semyaimani), who lives in Vauxhall, to call off the events and not organize future events, calling the pop-up parties "a public nuisance."

"In promoting, organizing and encouraging attendees to come to this special event, Defendants did not apply for or secure a special event permit from the Borough contrary to the requirements of Ordinance 5-12," the lawsuit says. "Failing to apply for or receive a permit denies the Borough the opportunity to ensure that proper measures are taken to ensure the safety of attendees and the residents of and other visitors to the Borough."

"For a large-scale event such as the one being advertised, adequate restrooms must be arranged, adequate sanitation must be accounted for, and there must be adequate police, fire and EMS services present during the event," the lawsuit said. "Subverting this rule allows the promoters and organizers to avoid responsibility for the behavior or actions of their attendees."

The lawsuit mimics the one filed last week by Long Branch against six people, including Thompson and Gill, in connection with the May 21 pop-up party.

"Our city is open to all kinds of events, but we also have rules to keep people safe," Long Branch Mayor John Pallone said. "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." Read more: Long Branch Sues 6 New Jersey Men For Promoting Mass Pop-Up Parties

On Friday, Thompson began circulating a notice telling his followers the pop-up parties had been canceled, warning that people who show up will be prosecuted.

"HUGE STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION," Kanitra wrote in a Facebook post where he shared the notice.