HoCo street party fines target popular YouTuber, but he vows to return in 2022
A month after the unsanctioned homecoming party on Broughdale Avenue, near Western University campus, many partygoers face a financial hangover.
City Hall has issued 38 fines totalling $29,000 -- with some Administrative Monetary Penalty notices arriving in the mail as recently as last week.
Two of those fines were just sent to YouTuber/Podcaster Jack Denmo, who launched his online career filming rowdy street parties including HoCo.
“I ain’t paying!” Denmo tells CTV News London. “What I’m going to do is dispute it. Go in and meet with whoever I need to.”
“We are very concerned about the posting of dangerous events on social media platforms such as YouTube,” explains Orest Katolyk, director of Municipal Law Enforcement at City Hall.
Not speaking specifically about Denmo, Katolyk says online videos can fuel unsanctioned parties and dangerous behaviour.
Thirty people were hospitalized at homecoming parties around Western University last month.
“The 15 minutes of fame could easily translate into more than 15 minutes in the back of an ambulance,” he warns.
Katolyk adds that TikTok has started removing rowdy party videos that display dangerous behaviour.
“They are starting to lay down the hammer on this kind of documentation of rowdy behaviour,” admits Denmo. “But realistically this has been going on since universities began, the only difference is now people film it and put it online.”
Denmo’s 2019 video from Broughdale Avenue has garnered more than 717,000 views on YouTube.
He says the combined $1,300 fine wouldn’t impact his online business model, but City Hall’s efforts to crack down on the party have crossed the line.
“It changes my opinion of the country. I don’t want to live in a place where I’m not allowed to walk down the road, or drink a beer on my front lawn. That just sounds crazy whether or not it’s HoCo.”
Denmo believes his videos attract students to attend the schools where he films.
Repeat offenders could see fines doubled according to City Hall, but he vows to be back in September 2022.
“It absolutely does not change anything for me coming there in the future.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.