A group of YouTube pranksters who carried out fake robberies at two major art galleries in London have been jailed after pleading guilty to a public order offence of causing fear and provocation of violence.
Four members of the channel Trollstation – which has more than 700,000 subscribers – staged the practical joke last July, when they carried out a spook raid at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) and another at the Tate Gallery in central London.
Their vlog of the robbery prank garnered just 220,000 views – in comparison with one of Zoella’s average videos, which gain over one million.
The CCTV footage shows terrified members of the public fleeing the NPG after the men burst in with their faces covered. Leaving with a fake framed artwork gave the impression of a robbery.
‘A good idea on paper’
The audacious joke was then carried out again at the Tate.
Four members of Trollstation, Daniel Raymond Marcus Jarvis, Endrit Ferizolli, Ebenezer Mensah and Helder Gomes were jailed for between 16 and 20 weeks for their roles in the NPG incident and the Tate Gallery offence.
Dan Vahn Lee was jailed for 12 weeks for his involvement in the NPG incident.
Referring to the prank in the video, the group says: “On paper it was a good idea. However it didn’t end well.”
The footage then cuts to show some members being taken away by the police.
‘Deplorable actions’
Trollstation’s actions have been labelled “deplorable” by the police.
“To go into busy public places wearing masks shouting and screaming at a time of heightened awareness of the of the terrorism threat facing the UK is deplorable,” said Detective Constable Anthony Parker, from the Met’s Public Order Crime Team.
He said the men’s actions were “outrageous,” adding that it was only by chance that none of the “terrified” visitors were injured when they fled the galleries.
“All five men now have a number of weeks in jail to consider just how unfunny their stunts actually were,” said DC Parker.
Trollstation say their “content is intentionally provocative and controversial with the aim to get reactions from the general public in the name of comedic satire”.
