Governor Murphy tells “knucklehead” Nelk Boys fans to get tested for COVID-19

Governor Murphy tells "knucklehead" Nelk Boys fans to get tested for COVID-19
SEASIDE HEIGHTS, NJ – Those damn kids are spreading their COVID-19 all over Ocean County, according to New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.  Today, Murphy addressed the incident this week in Seaside Heights where thousands of Nelk Boys fans came to the small borough to see their idols.
“On Monday night we saw perhaps our most extreme, which is saying something by the way, an egregious display of knucklehead behavior in Seaside Heights set off by a group of YouTube pranksters who succeeded in getting the notoriety they wanted but obviously don’t deserve the scene of hundreds of young people,” Murphy said.  “My team says nearly a thousand by some counts crowded around a corner in Seaside Heights largely unmasked definitely not social distancing it’s exactly the type of situation we cannot have. It was irresponsible from top to bottom in every respect and these so-called influencers need to be taken to task in New Jersey.”
Murphy suggested some form of criminal or civil penalties could be in the future for the Nelk Boys.
“It was just the latest stop on their tour of willful negligence for public health in a pandemic.  Moreover, the local police resources that were needed to disperse the crowd were substantial and I know the state police also got involved to keep traffic and other things moving multiple towns, ” Murphy said.  “So, I thank all the members of law enforcement who responded on Monday night and by the way, they were put in harm’s way particularly when you look at these crowds you cannot help be close and up close with folks when you’ve got something like that.  I had a good exchange this morning with my good friend Mayor Tony Vaz and I know he’s pulling his hair out over what happened on Monday.”

“On Monday in Seaside Heights, extreme knucklehead behavior was on display with hundreds of crowded, unmasked young people. These knuckleheads are not welcome in New Jersey,” Murphy said.  “I urge anyone who was in this crowd to go get tested for #COVID19.”

The Nelk Boys, with over 3.6 million Instagram and 5.7 million subscribers on YouTube rented out the Jersey Shore house in Seaside Heights this week and drew a crowd of roughly 2,000 followers with them.  It wasn’t long before the Seaside Heights Police Department put out the call to surrounding towns to shut it down.  The YouTubers were unveiling a new line of clothing online, promoting their “Full Send” brand.    Instead, they were kicked out by police and crowds were dispersed.   The Nelk Boys, from Canada run a YouTube prank channel and have amassed a large audience, with some videos reaching up to 11,000,000 views.  The group then turned on their fans and told them if they loved them, they would leave.  “You guys have to leave, you’re ruining our biggest day,” they said.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFJJXo4p7XH/

After a nearby car meetup down the street became rowdy, police broke up both events.

https://www.facebook.com/OCPoliceBlotter/videos/968303833684973/

Crowds disperse after police broke up two events in Seaside Heights.

On Saturday,  a post by YouTube said they have taken action against the Nelk Boys channel because they encouraged large social gatherings with disregard to social distancing guidelines.  This could have a severely negative impact on the team’s ability to earn money.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1305686737704726528