Getting your
Trinity Audioplayer ready...Those arrested or cited during the mayhem in Newport Beach on the Fourth of July were mostly split between California and Arizona residents, ranging from age 13 to 39, according to data provided by the Newport Beach Police Department on Tuesday.
Of all the people detained or arrested, only 10 were Newport Beach residents.
REALTED: 400 arrested, fireworks hurled at crowds, police in chaotic July 4th in Newport Beach
Police detained 353 people directly involved in the chaotic scene along the coastline on the Balboa Peninsula. Of those, 316 people were cited for misdemeanors and 37 were arrested, including 25 juvenile arrests, the data shows. The minors’ arrests included a broader time period over the holiday weekend.
In total, 161 of those arrested or cited on July 4th were from California, while 145 were from Arizona, with those cited ranging from as far away as Ontario, Canada and the Netherlands.
The crimes that those arrested were accused of committing were not included in the data provided by the police department.
Officers from across Orange County showed up en masse to the shoreline to assist 350 Newport Beach police officers after an “invasion” of minors and young adults came to the Newport Pier area in a short time, according to City Manager Seimone Jurjis.
As the crowd rapidly grew, people engaged in increasingly dangerous and unlawful behavior, blocking roadways, restricting emergency vehicle access and throwing mortars, fireworks and other projectiles at officers, reportedly injuring one, officials said.
Video showed officers on horseback attempting to clear the beach, while also closing it down from 22nd Street to 36th Street about 3 p.m. Saturday.
A Pavilions supermarket on West Balboa Boulevard was ransacked at one point and video from the scene showed groups of people detained and being transported on Orange County Transportation Authority buses.
The Newport Beach Police Association blamed a post on social media for starting the trouble, labeling the event an alleged “TikTok Takeover,” but the association’s president declined to comment when asked for more specifics.
Jurjis on Monday said he wasn’t sure what drew the crowds to Newport Beach, whether it may have been social media influencers or possibly some who wanted to flout the city’s “Not in Newport” campaign.
Of the 37 arrested, 22 were from California and 11 were from Arizona, the police data shows. Ten were from Orange County, including two from Newport Beach.
Of the 316 people who were cited, 139 were from California and 134 were from Arizona, the data shows. Fifty were from Orange County, with eight of them Newport Beach residents.
A total of 34 Inland Empire residents were either cited or arrested and 40 were from Los Angeles County.
Police previously announced they made 402 arrests between midnight July 3 and 6 a.m. July 5.
Newport Beach Councilmember Erik Weigand believes the July 4th data released on Tuesday confirmed what city leaders suspected: Much of the mayhem was driven by social media.
What stood out, Weigand said, was the number of citations issued to minors and 18- to 22-year-olds.
“This wasn’t your typical Fourth of July,” he said, adding that as a lifelong resident of Newport Beach, he is somewhat accustomed to the drunken behavior in public and alcohol-related issues over past Fourth celebrations.
“This data clearly backs up the TikTok narrative,” he said. “These kids were incited by social media, interested in coming to cause trouble or at least go crazy. I don’t think it was necessarily alcohol-fueled.”
And with so many coming in from Arizona, he said, there is some force “that is now attracting them here.”
“It used to be San Diego, that was the place a lot of Arizonans came to,” he said. “Now it’s Newport.”
When the City Council meets next week, Weigand said he wants his colleagues to look at where people were staying and whether that warrants more city controls for short-term rentals.
“If you’re coming from Arizona, you’re not here for a day trip,” he said. “Where are these kids staying? Are they staying at a cheaper location, or are their parents getting an Airbnb and just letting them run wild?”
He noted there were 20 additional arrests on July 5, most of them Arizona residents. “It means they were here for a couple of days, if not more.”
The city has more than 1,550 short-term rentals.
Weigand wants to review time limits for them at this time of year and consider some minimum stay requirements, such as requiring a minimum of five- or seven-day stays.
“Anything under to me is a contributor to a party,” he said.
Another option could be requiring the rentals to have security systems around their perimeters.
“Nothing showing on the inside, but on the outside, especially a house on the water or on the boardwalk, I want three or four cameras on the outside that our officers can tap into,” he said.
“I don’t want a police state, but in this moment it would be great for the police to tap into every single Airbnb unit on the peninsula,” he said. “That would give our officers the ability in real time to prepare for it. And catch some of these kids doing dumb things. There needs to be more controls on these Airbnbs and I’m prepared to go after that.”
The numbers in Newport Beach on Saturday night transcended those from a birthday celebration that turned chaotic in Huntington Beach in May 2021.That party also was sparked by a TikTok post that went viral.
Most of the young people arrested during that event – dubbed “Adrian’s Kickback” — were from outside Huntington Beach city limits.
Nearly 180 arrests were made during the weekend-long event, with the bulk of those arrests occurring on a Saturday night while a disruptive crowd forced Huntington Beach officers to declare an unlawful assembly.
Some people climbed a lifeguard tower, while others ran through traffic and ransacked stalls where artisans sold their goods, police said at the time. Some were arrested for vandalism and fireworks violations.
Of the arrests, only 14 were Huntington Beach residents, but just 12 were from out of state, officials said.
Number of July 4th arrests and citations in Newport Beach by state
- California – 161
- Arizona – 145
- Nevada – 28
- Utah – 6
- Texas – 3
- Florida – 3
- Nebraska – 1
- Ohio – 1
- Alabama – 1
- Michigan – 1
- Massachusetts – 1
- Canada – 1
- Netherlands – 1