Newport Beach authorities explained Monday how police ended up arresting more than 400 people when the city’s Fourth of July celebrations turned dangerous and chaotic.
The arrested, many of whom are from other Southern California counties and from out of state, crashed the annual Independence Day event, throwing fireworks into crowds and officers, according to police.
“The evening went on, and the sun went down. We started seeing a large influx of people coming into the area, and the behavior started to shift into unruly type behavior,” Lt. Eric Little with the Newport Beach Police Department told NBC Los Angeles.
Police on horseback tried to disperse the crows on the sand and on the streets as the unpleasant visitors to the city littered trash and created chao.
“(They were) blocking road, drinking in public. And that’s when we had to declare an unlawful assembly and push those people out of the city,” Little explained, adding very few of the 400 arrested are from the area.
“People we arrested were from out of state, Nevada, Arizona,” the lieutenant said.
The age range of those arrested was teenagers to young adults, Little said, with 15 to 25 being the vast majority of people arrested.
The police department said it’s in touch with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office to discuss the next steps and potential charges against the arrested. Some of the charges could include remaining under an unlawful assembly.
Several people were detained after law enforcement responded to a large crowd in Newport Beach. This video was broadcast on Today in LA on Sunday, July 5, 2026.
While many people who live on Newport’s Balboa Peninsula leave town on the Fourth of July, those who stayed were rattled by what they saw as their neighborhood became flooded with thousands of teenagers.
“I was a mad house,” Paul Sanchez, a Newport Beach neighbor, said. “I’m going to do a petition next city council to put a petition to close Newport beach next year for the Fourth of July. Locals only unless you have permission to be here.”
Police believe the the situation grew out of hand quickly and dangerously because videos began spreading on social media.
Tracey Freed, a social media legal expert, said the online platforms were pushing the videos and posts out to essentially invite out-of-town people to Newport Beach.
“From a legal perspective, if something were to be opposed to incite violence or to come to this area to create chaos, havoc, light fireworks, which is against the law, then those types of posts would be either pulled down,” Freed said. “You could have your account terminated, suspended, things like that.”
Newport Beach investigators are looking into social media influencers who may have posted videos to urge people to come to the area.
At least 44 people were taken to a hospital with at least six people being sent to trauma centers, according to fire officials.