After a string of huge house parties over the summer, TikTok stars Bryce Hall and Blake Gray have pled not guilty to misdemeanor charges.
Hall and Gray, who found fame as part of the now-defunct content collective Sway House, were charged with causing a public nuisance in late August.
After initially getting in trouble with the law for a party on August 8, where police issued them with a violation notice, citation and warning, videos emerged of hundreds of people gathering at the boys’ Hollywood Hills mansion on August 14. This second party was said to be a celebration for Bryce Hall’s 21st birthday.
Bryce Hall and Blake Gray plead not guilty to the charges
E! News revealed that on Thursday 18 February, the duo submitted pleas of not guilty to misdemeanour charges related to violating public health orders with their lockdown-flouting parties.
If the two are found guilty, they could be issued with a $2,000 fine or face up to a year in prison.
How did the two get in trouble with the law?
According to a police press release obtained by E! news, officers were dispatched to the mansion on both occasions as a result of complaints. One neighbor claimed that they could hear a gun going off during Bryce’s birthday party.
Although the press release says that police couldn’t find evidence of any gun going off, it reports that Blake was issued with a second violation notice, citation and final warning over their non-compliance with public health orders.
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Following this, on August 19, Elijah Daniel, the LA mayor, announced that he was severing all utilities in the mansion “to stop the large parties held there in flagrant violation of our public health orders.”
Bryce Hall criticized as a bad role model
City Attorney Mike Feuer then announced in an August 28 press conference that the pair would be charged with violating the Party House Ordinance and Safer LA Health Order.
Feur said at the time: “We allege these hosts have been incredibly irresponsible, with a highly-infectious disease spreading and parties banned because of it, and we allege they violated the law. We allege that in many cases these parties and the party houses associated with them have hijacked the quality of life for neighbors in the affected communities.”
“If you have a combined 19 million followers on TikTok in the middle of a public health crisis, you should be modeling great behavior, best practices for all of us, rather than brazenly violating the law and then posting videos about it,” he added.
While Bryce and Blake are unlikely to get jail time over their crimes, the outcome of the case remains to be seen. Neither has commented publicly on the case.
