400 arrested – A Fourth of July celebration on Newport Beach’s peninsula turned violent, with fireworks lit close to crowds and fights breaking out, leading to more than 400 arrests, cleanup efforts on Sunday, and a city crackdown that includes increased fines and lodging pe
The chaos started after 7 p.m. Saturday, on the Newport Peninsula, when officers were dispatched following reports of large crowds lighting fireworks and fighting. By the time the night settled. local law enforcement had arrested more than 400 people. and the beachfront community was left to sweep up what remained.
Video circulating after the unrest showed aerial fireworks lighting close to where people stood. Other footage captured fireworks being thrown into the crowd by an unknown individual. One clip showed a person wearing a Spider-Man mask climbing a traffic light. then leading a chant that rang through the streets: “USA. USA. USA.”.
Around the area, more scenes surfaced online. People were seen carrying broken street signs. At the nearby Pavilions grocery store on West Balboa Boulevard, the videos showed looting.
At Sancho’s Tacos, near Pavilions, Mia Meyers said she was closing up shop around 5 p.m. when she saw crowds begin pounding on the business’ windows. She described a night marked by disorder and alcohol.
“There was just a lot of chaos with underage drinking and yelling at the workers, including myself,” Meyers said.
By Sunday morning, cleanup began with residents and local volunteers heading to the beach to pick up remnants from the night. Meyers said she only saw one video of the Pavilions parking lot, and the day’s work helped put the focus back on the neighborhood.
“Thankfully, all of the locals around here helped pick up,” Meyers said. “All of the people that live around here like to keep Newport [Beach] a clean and beautiful environment, so they all worked together to help pick it up. When I came here this morning to work, I didn’t see any of it.”
The city had already been warning visitors ahead of the holiday. During the summer. Newport Beach launched its “Not in Newport” campaign on social media to remind guests that officials would have zero tolerance for public intoxication. illegal fireworks and other rowdy behavior. Under the city’s rules. fines for violations in West Newport Beach and the Peninsula—designated as safety enhancement zones—were set to be tripled through July 6.
Newport Beach Mayor Lauren Kleiman said the Fourth of July has long brought an influx of visitors and a youth movement that ebbs and flows, but she pointed to a shift over the last couple of years.
“The last couple of years we’ve definitely seen an uptick, in particular kids from out of state,” Kleiman said. “[It’s] not atypical, but I think that social media has really changed things.”
The city also introduced a one-strike revocation rule for short-term lodging permit holders during the safety enhancement periods. Kleiman said the policy is designed to address situations where adults rent short-term housing for young people but do not accompany them as chaperones.
Kleiman said the situation became tense, but she also described how it changed once police contained the area.
“I know there’s a lot of social media coverage, but it was actually pretty orderly once [police] contained the area. The remaining young people who were not taking police commands were also arrested,” she said.
Kleiman confirmed more than 400 arrests in the last 36 hours. She said many minors were among those taken into custody, including people from outside Newport Beach. She also said one officer sustained non-life-threatening injuries after a mortar was thrown at him.
“We’re still processing everything. Come Monday morning, we will all sit down and debrief about what we can do better for next year,” Kleiman said.
Support for authorities has come from within law enforcement as well. The Newport Beach Police Assn. praised the actions of local officials, saying they were outnumbered 500 to 1. In a social media post. the association applauded what it described as efforts made against a large group of “agitators” that it linked to an alleged “TikTok Takeover.” The post. later attributed to Joe DeJulio. president of the police association. said the group came “with the intent on causing harm. injury. and destruction. bringing harassment. disturbances. and mayhem.”.
The Newport Beach Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for more details. In the aftermath, the community’s cleanup work underscored the immediate cost of a night that began with fireworks and escalated into something far more dangerous.
Newport Beach Fourth of July arrests fireworks incident illegal fireworks public intoxication safety enhancement zones Pavilions grocery store looting underage drinking Lauren Kleiman