The Facebook Republican Army have mobilised themselves:
‘Facebook Army’ wreck 1m home
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
A Facebook gang who described themselves as “every parent’s worst nightmare” have trashed a teenager’s 1 million home.
Plumber Steve O’Brien, 25, and his fellow gang members wreaked mayhem at their privately-educated victim’s 16th birthday party.
His gang, the self-styled Facebook Republican Army, gatecrashed Georgina Hobday’s birthday party after she invited friends via the social networking website.
They rampaged through rooms, causing 5,000 damage, smashing lightbulbs and burning woodwork with cigarettes.
One hundred people were invited via an online invitation list to the party, inspired by the MTV reality series My Super Sweet 16, but it was gatecrashed by 300 people.
After schoolgirl Georgina’s parents, Michael and Sylvia, left their four-storey 1 million townhouse in Brighton, East Sussex, to allow genuine guests to enjoy themselves, Mr Hobday was called by police on his mobile phone, telling him the party was out of control. Georgina’s mum described the scene she came home to as an “absolute horror show”.
According to The Sun, O’Brien boasted: “We’re every parent’s worst nightmare”.
The Facebook Republican Army, based on Brighton’s tough Whitehawk estate, looks for parties on Facebook.
The gang boasts it travels nationwide and has even bought its own coach.
Steve, whose brother Shaun, 24, is also a member, told the newspaper: "We didn’t have to go far for this bash. It was just round the corner.
"One of the lads is a whiz on the computer and finds all the parties.
“We don’t intend to cause trouble, but it kicks off sometimes. The house usually gets trashed.”
Police took an hour to disperse the crowd.
Inspector Andy Richardson, of Sussex Police, said: “There was a sea of people, the place was overrun and it was difficult to move, which was a major safety problem that required a lot of police time and resources.”
Your mate saved you some embarrassment.
