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159 Arizonans arrested in California beach town over holiday weekend
A massive holiday crowd in Newport Beach led to hundreds of arrests and citations. FOX 10's Megan Spector learns more, as 159 Arizona residents were swept up in the enforcement action.
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - Rowdy Independence Day crowds in Newport Beach led to hundreds of arrests and citations, and preliminary numbers from city officials show Arizona topped the list for out-of-state offenders.
What we know:
The out-of-state crowd was so massive that the city manager is thinking about contacting Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs and state universities directly to address the issue.
By the numbers:
Preliminary numbers from Newport Beach officials show that between July 3 and July 5, 439 people were arrested or cited and released. Among them, 92 were teenagers under 18, and 159 were from Arizona.
"It does seem like a vast majority are from outside Orange County," a Newport Beach police officer said. "We have a number of people from out of state, from Arizona and Nevada that were part of that arrest number."
The backstory:
On the Fourth of July, officers responded to fights, fireworks, looting, and more on and around the beach. City officials are pointing the finger at social media for publicizing and drawing in the crowds.
"I saw TikToks like for weeks saying, ‘Is Arizona ready to take over Newport,’" one person at the beach said.
Dig deeper:
Police declared it an unlawful assembly, and more than 350 officers responded to the scene. Charges range from alcohol-related offenses to disorderly conduct and resisting police.
A total of 107 adult Arizonans were cited for misdemeanors during the mass arrest, running neck-and-neck with California's 108 citations. By comparison, the next highest state was Nevada with just 22.
Local perspective:
However, officials are not just looking at states; they are drilling down to the exact cities. Two cities in Arizona had the most adult citations by a long shot, with 29 Gilbert residents cited and 21 Mesa residents cited. Gilbert also took the lead with juvenile citations.
Only one Arizona adult was actually arrested and booked during the mass arrest, but between July 3 and July 5, there were a total of 11. As for teenagers, 10 under the age of 18 were arrested over the holiday weekend, with the youngest being 15. These numbers remain preliminary and are expected to change as police and city officials get more information.
What's next:
FOX 10 followed up with Newport Beach officials asking if some of these numbers could be inflated by potential California college students who are originally from Arizona, but no response was received.
As for whether officials will reach out to Gov. Hobbs or Arizona universities, the city council will be discussing this during its meeting on July 14.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from Newport Beach officials.