Fake SantaCon charges dropped against Fairfield University student from Massapequa, court records show

Criminal charges against a 19-year-old Fairfield University student from Long Island accused of promoting a fake SantaCon gathering that received more than 600,000 views last month on Instagram, have been dropped by state prosecutors in Connecticut, according to court records obtained by Newsday.

The student, Emmet Blaney of Massapequa, was arrested by the Fairfield Police Department on Nov. 19, charged with criminal attempt to commit disorderly conduct and third-degree criminal attempt to commit criminal trespass. Authorities said the charge related to a social media post by Blaney "promoting a SantaCon gathering, at specific private residential beach addresses that he has no affiliation with" — without homeowner permission.

The arrest followed a complaint filed by a homeowner who saw his address listed, authorities said.

Authorities said Blaney had cooperated with police — and police said no one showed up for the fake party.

Court records showed that state prosecutors entered a "nolle" — short for the Latin term "nolle prosequi," which translates into "do not want to continue" or a decision not to pursue further action — on Monday in State Superior Court in Bridgeport. That decision effectively dropped the case against Blaney.

Both charges were misdemeanors.

In a statement e-mailed on Tuesday to Newsday, Blaney's attorney, Elizabeth H. Buchanan of the Hartford firm Shipman & Goodwin, LLP, wrote: "We are pleased with the result and the State’s appropriate resolution of these charges." Buchanan had previously declined to comment following the Monday court appearance.

State officials did not respond to repeated requests from Newsday seeking comment.

But, according to court records obtained by Newsday, the original charges against Blaney alleged he had posted an address on Lighthouse Point Road without permission from the homeowner — and had described it as the "gathering location" for "an upcoming SantaCon event" scheduled to take place on Dec. 6.

The original criminal complaint noted the post on Instagram was made using the username "fairfieldsantacon" — and that the post used "a picture of a large crowd" from a previous SantaCon event along with a caption that read "FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY SANTACON 2" and providing the address, date and time of the fake event.

Authorities said the post received 632,000 views — and more than 13,000 likes.

Another post attributed to the account read "THE BIGGEST COLLEGE PARTY IN THE NORTHEAST IS 4 WEEKS AWAY," according to the original criminal complaint. The complaint said that post had 163,000 views with more than 4,000 likes and had been shared more than 2,000 times.

The complaint said police were able to tie the username to Blaney through digital records, including information obtained related to his Facebook account, and said that when confronted by investigators Blaney admitted he'd created the post, stating he'd been doing work for a local promoter — and that he'd obtained the location using Apple Maps, but had no idea it was a private residential address until informed by law enforcement.

Confronted with that information — and, informed another address used also was private property — authorities said Blaney agreed to take down the posts.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a Newsday reporter since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press, Society of the Silurians and National Headliner Awards for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing. He is the author of “Swee'pea,” about New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. His debut crime novel, “For Nothing Is Hidden,” rooted in 1950s Long Island, was released in October 2025.