LOS ANGELES—On August 19, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti authorized the City to disconnect utility service at a house where multiple large parties have occurred, violating public health orders.
Garcetti announced the decision via Twitter:
“Today I authorized the City to disconnect utility service at a house in the Hollywood Hills to stop the large parties held there in flagrant violation of our public health orders. Parties like these can quickly and easily spread the virus and put our communities at risk.” @MayorOfLA
Parties such as these are banned in LA due to the pandemic. On August 4, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued a warning about parties. “The highest-risk settings are large in-person gatherings where it is difficult for individuals to remain spaced at least 6 feet apart and where face coverings are not worn,” the statement said. “The consequences of these large parties ripple throughout our entire community because the virus can quickly and easily spread.”
On August 5, Garcetti announced a directive stating that LAPD officers who respond to a large party at a property can request that utilities be cut within 48 hours. He said repeat offenders are the target.
The house where utilities were cut, classified as a mansion, is rented by TikTok influencers Bryce Hall, Noah Beck, and Blake Gray. They refer to the residence as the “Sway House”. The three maintain accounts on various social media platforms including TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat, in which they make money by promoting brands to their millions of followers, most of which are under the age of 18.
Numerous parties have occurred throughout the past months at the influencers’ Hollywood Hills home in Bel Air, according to footage posted by Hall and others on social media. Hall’s neighbors have made several noise complaints throughout the pandemic.
The final event that led Garcetti to cut utilities at the Hollywood Hills house was Hall’s 21st birthday party, which took place on August 14 at a rental house in Encino. Videos showed dozens of mask-less attendees packed together indoors. According to a guest, there were at least 75 people as well as 20 strippers.
Officers responded to noise complaints at a home in the 8700 block of Appian Way early in the morning of August 15. The party was broken up around 4 a.m.
Garcetti said, “Despite several warnings, this house has turned into a nightclub in the hills, hosting large gatherings in flagrant violation of our public health orders. The city has now disconnected utilities at this home to stop these parties that endanger our community”. He added, “With more than 2,000 Angelenos—and over 170,000 Americans—lost to COVID-19, we need every resident to undertake critical safeguards to stop the spread of this virus.”
On August 19, after Garcetti’s statement, Hall posted a video of him and Gray dancing.
On August 16, two days after the party, a “Notice of Violation” was visible on the property. It stated that police had visited the home on August 8 and August 14 and observed violations related to hosting loud parties and disturbing the peace.
Another notice on the property, dated August 14, was the final notice of noncompliance with the mayor’s prohibition of large gatherings. The notice warned of the directive to shut off utility services.
In July, another mansion belonging to influencers, called the “Hype House”, hosted a party with around 70 attendees and hundreds of people waiting outside.
In an interview with KT from a month ago, Hall shared a message to fans, “I just again want to highlight the fact that, if you’re watching this, don’t do what I do. I’m a social media content creator. I am here for entertainment purposes only, and I don’t condone anything I do.”
Hall has 13 million followers on Tik Tok, in which his demographic is widely children under the age of 18. He additionally has 2.74 million subscribers on YouTube and 6.1 million followers on Instagram.
