Hours of chaos, vandalism in Newport Beach: Are viral social media posts to blame?
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Set us as preferred Newport Beach police are used to crowds on the Fourth of July.But they were not expecting the thousands of teenagers and young adults who descended on the city Saturday, leading to hours of chaos and vandalism that some say is the worst the city has seen in years.Authorities are still trying to determine what drew so many people.
The Newport Beach Police Association blamed a viral “TikTok takeover” on social media that attracted crowds.It’s still unclear whether a single post was the draw or how it was organized, and police said its investigation is ongoing.Newport Beach police routinely monitors social media, but saw no early indication that such massive crowds would be arriving on the Peninsula.And that may have been by design.
According to some law enforcement experts, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find such posts in a world of private chat groups and apps.People are increasingly planning meetups on Signal, WhatsApp and Discord, which aren’t publicly viewable, said Mike Parker, a retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department commander.“Monitoring takes time and cops have to find ways to become members and that is very hard,” he said.
“So now you add into the equation that people are available that day and it sounds fun.People are hyping it up.
Add in the hot weather and the beach would be a relief.” Between midnight on Friday through 6 a.m.on Sunday, officers arrested 402 people in Newport Beach, a 570% increase from the same period last year.
About half of the arrests were people who remained on the Peninsula after police issued a dispersal order, authorities said.“This was on another level,” said Newport Beach Police Lt.Eric Little.
The majority of those arrested did not live in Newport Beach.A Times review of the department’s arrest log showed arrestees from...