N.J. law targets disruptive pop-up parties and inciting public brawls

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New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill into law late Monday that upgrades penalties for some disorderly conduct and establishes penalties for inciting a public brawl. The move comes amid growing concern over large gatherings of young people that have at times devolved into chaos along the state’s shore towns.

Several New Jersey towns in recent years have been overrun by unruly individuals in their teens and twenties who caused disruptions, overwhelming local police departments.

South Jersey Assemblyman Dan Hutchison, a prime sponsor of the measure in the lower house, said the law is intended to make New Jersey families feel safe.

“When you send your kids up to the boardwalk, you don’t want to feel that they could potentially be stabbed or shot or beaten to a pulp,” he said.

According to the new statute, inciting a public brawl is a fourth-degree crime if the person organizes or promotes a group of four or more individuals to engage in a course of disorderly conduct. A fourth-degree crime is punishable by up to 18 months in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

Individuals who participate in a pop-up party that causes a disruption or a disturbance can be charged with a disorderly persons offense, punishable by six months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

He said the new law will hopefully act as a deterrent and give law enforcement officers the tools they need to maintain order in their towns.

“When they do make these arrests and young people see their friends going to prison, it’s going to make them think twice before they do these things,” Hutchison said.

The issue was brought into sharp focus during the Memorial Day weekend in Seaside Heights, after a pop-up party involving young people escalated on the boardwalk, causing panic among residents and tourists.

Earlier this spring, a brawl involving hundreds of young people erupted at the Menlo Park Mall, resulting in several arrests, and a carnival was shut down outside of the Woodbridge Center after a pop-up party suddenly began. Word of both gatherings had been spread on social media sites.

State Senator Paul Moriarty, a prime sponsor in the upper house, said, unfortunately, the new law is urgently needed.

“Our message to people is that we’re going to arrest you, you’re not just going to get a slap on the wrist, we hope that might be a message that people listen to and say we better not do that in New Jersey anyway,” he said.

Under the statute, people who wear masks for medical, demonstrative, or religious reasons will not be subject to prosecution for concealing their identities.

Gov. Murphy had conditionally vetoed the legislation last month because of First Amendment concerns. The earlier version would have criminalized engaging or promoting others to engage in disorderly conduct and lacked exemptions for medical and other mask-wearing.