NJ cannabis and free speech activist Mike Vintzileos explained his protest as Bongholeo at a Cranford Township Committee meeting, which made national news.
“I’ve been to every Cranford meeting since December, just as me. And I would ask them basic, general questions and they would never answer them,” Mike explained to Heady NJ.
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“The reason I showed up was because there was a candidate, Will Thilly, who was running against them,” he noted. “And they started suppressing his speech. They started creating bylaws to stop him from being quirky.”
“After all these months of going to these meetings, it became apparent that these meetings are a joke,” Mike explained. “None of our concerns are being heard… So, if it’s a joke, we’re gonna make it a joke. Fighting absurdity with absurdity.”
Incidentally, Cranford is represented in the NJ Senate by NJ Senator President Nick Scutari (D-22-Union), who hates the idea of home cannabis gardening.
July 2026 Cranford Meeting Goes Viral
The video of the initial July incident that went viral is on his website Bongholeo.com.
“My name is Bongholeo,” Mike said before spelling it out.
“And this is my baby Bongholito,” he noted about a robotic doll he had that was simulating crying.
“Unfortunately, my wife left me with the kid,” Mike added.
“…It’s difficult for us to hear you with that background,” Prunty said.
“I can’t hear you in this thing, so I don’t know what you’re saying,” Mike replied.
He then put the fake baby down in the back and proceeded to sing “… Give me a light. Pack up my headpiece. Then let’s all get stoned tonight! … I’m a big damn bong!”
National Press for NJ Free Speech and Cannabis Activist
Mike as Bongholeo was most recently featured on the News 12 TV channel and the Politico NJ newsletter. In July, late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live guest host Tiffany Haddish mentioned his story. He posted the clip on Instagram.
“Laugh all you want folks. You’re looking at the next President of the United States!” Haddish exclaimed to laughter.
TMZ covered Mike as Bongholeo earlier this summer as well.
Unconventional Activism in Cranford
At Cranford’s August meeting, Cranford Mayor Kathleen Miller Prunty seemed annoyed by him trying to adjust the microphone while in his costume, which was difficult.
“It’s not the right height,” Mike said. “…I can’t bend my knees.”
“I believe TV 35 can hear you,” Prunty said.
Mike then played a song about being a bong. At the end, his costume blew smoke and set off its own alarm.
Protest for Disabled Dispensary Access and Home Cannabis Gardening
Mike also noted he wanted to amplify Edward “Lefty” Grimes’ advocacy for more ramps into dispensaries as well as legal home cannabis gardening during their August meeting.
“I’m here to talk to Governor Sherrill,” Lefty noted during the August meeting. “…This industry was built on the back of sick, dying disabled people…”
He didn’t like that some dispensaries might not accommodate disabled people because they were built before disabled access became mandatory.
“…We need homegrow. We have Black and Brown people being arrested all over the State for growing cannabis. Something that’s constitutionally legal for business entities to grow but not us!” Lefty declared. “So, we got the new Jim Crow!”
“Tell Senator Scutari to hold homegrow hearings!… He’s been stalling it for 5 years!” he exclaimed.
The Cranford Township Committee then recessed because the smoke coming from Bongholeo was distracting.
Mike noted it was not weed smoke coming out, just fog.
“Originally, they said you can’t have the bong in there smoking. So, I agreed,” he said.
Mike said he left the meeting room to remove the costume and was kicked out of the building.
Cranford Free Speech Issues
He noted Thilly was arrested at the July Cranford meeting and charged with 3rd degree aggravated assault on a police officer.
“In my eyes, it was an orchestrated setup…to take the retaliation to the next level,” Mike said.
He explained Thilly sat on the ground as a protest, and a police officer claimed he sustained a knee injury.
NJ Cannabis Activist “Bongholeo” Background
Mike was an early advocate of medical cannabis legalization, including home cannabis gardening. So with Lefty, he went to town council meetings across the State to protest towns against cannabis dispensaries.
He has made many protest songs with Lefty, including “You can’t get no weed here,” listing NJ towns against legalization.
Mike acknowledged the controversial nature of his unconventional tactics.
“Some people may have thought that it wasn’t helpful,” he explained. “Once I felt that was kind of exhausted, I wasn’t doing it anymore.”
In the wake of New Jersey cannabis legalization, Mike moved to free speech issues. He created a YouTube channel called Social Justice Waterpipe to do so.
Mike noted he hadn’t donned the costume in a while.
“Bongholeo has had a lot of power,” he said. “It’s an explosive amount of 1st Amendment expression.”
“I catch flak for going to towns I don’t live in. But the problem is, towns need outside help. Because the people within the township, when they bring up issues and criticize government, they get retaliated against!” Mike declared.
“My ultimate goal is to empower … people to speak up themselves,” he said.
Mike thought it could be a popular trend.
“We’re going to see a lot of people dressing up…they see the clown show mockery of these meetings…,” he said.
Mike pointed to a recent Darth Vader impersonator in favor of surveillance flock cameras in California as part of the trend.
