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Ten People Arrested At Illegal 200-Person Fight Club In The Bronx
By
Sydney Pereira
Published Nov 15, 2020
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By
Sydney Pereira
Published Nov 15, 2020
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A 200-plus-person underground fight night in the Bronx was broken up by deputy sheriffs on Saturday evening, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Rumble in the Bronx, an underground fight club group, held a fight night at a warehouse in the Bronx on Coster Street near East Bay Avenue with more than 200 people in attendance, according to New York City Sheriff Joe Fucito.
Deputy sheriffs say they found people drinking alcohol and smoking without wearing face masks or social distancing around 11:15 p.m. inside the warehouse. The size of the gathering far exceeded the state's limit on non-essential gatherings to ten people, intended to slow the spread of coronavirus. It also violated regulations unrelated to coronavirus, according to the sheriff's office.
Ten organizers, promoters, a DJ, and security guard were arrested and charged with various COVID-19 emergency order violations, liquor law violations, and holding an event for a prohibited combative sport. All ten organizers were issued desk appearance tickets and slapped with $15,000 in fines for holding the event.
Two loaded guns were also seized at the event, as well as marijuana and alcohol, the Sheriff's Office said. It is not clear if anyone had been arrested for possessing the guns.
The CEO of Rumble in the Bronx, 32-year-old Michael J. Roman, was among those arrested and issued fines for the event, according to the sheriff.
The underground fight club, founded by Roman, who goes by Killa Mike, is aimed at helping people ease tensions through boxing, rather than responding with gun violence, according to a 2018 feature on the group published in The Undefeated, a website covering race, sports, and culture. The group's motto reads on Instagram, "GUNS DOWN GLOVES UP."
Roman and Rumble in the Bronx did not immediately respond to Instagram messages or an email.
NYC has faced a spike in shootings this year as the city also works to mitigate a health emergency that has killed more than 26,000 people in the five boroughs.
The fight club group has advertised another event in Orlando in December.
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