Following on from the trial and jailing of one Youtube prankster, others associated with the same channel have now been jailed for their part in similar pranks.
The group of men, part of the Youtube prankster group Trollstation, staged numerous 'pranks' including fake 'robberies' that one member of the group has already been jailed for at the National Portrait Gallery and the Tate Gallery.
CCTV footage has been released of the prank from the National Portrait Gallery where on July 5th 2015 shortly after 3:30pm five men burst into the building with covered faces, yelling and screaming at nearby patrons before leaving with prop framed artworks to give the impression that there had been a public armed robbery of the Gallery. The same stunt was pulled off at the Tate as well later in the same day.
Four of the five men were arrested on the day of the incident and were charged with public order offences; pleading guilty to an offence under Section 4 Public Order Act 1986, namely causing fear and provocation of violence. They were all jailed today for their parts.
Daniel Raymond Marcus Jarvis, 27 of Gravesend, Kent was jailed for 20 weeks for his role in the National Portrait Gallery incident and eight weeks for his involvement in the Tate Gallery offence. Both will run concurrently.
Endrit Ferizolli, 20 of , Brent was jailed for 16 weeks for his role in the National Portrait Gallery incident and eight weeks for his involvement in the Tate Gallery offence. Both will run concurrently at a Youth Offending Institute.
Ebenezer Mensah from SE15 was jailed for 18 weeks for his role in the National Portrait Gallery incident and eight weeks for his involvement in the Tate Gallery offence. Both will run concurrently.
Helder Gomes, 23, of Lambeth was jailed for 18 weeks for his role in the National Portrait Gallery incident and eight weeks for his involvement in the Tate Gallery offence. Both will run concurrently.
Trollstation is just one of many 'prankster' channels that have recently become popularised upon Youtube, with channels seemingly competing to gain viewers with ever more daring stunts. While some know where to draw the line, a worrying number of stories similar to this one have been surfacing recently of pranks that could cause worry or distress, with a few extending to much worse matters.