Nearly 150 California residents were arrested for holding a massive birthday celebration in Huntington Beach, California over the weekend, where police were forced to stop the party earlier than attendees would have liked.
One user by the name of adrian.lopez517, posted the details of the party on Wednesday as a meetup he called “Adrian’s Kickback.” He planned it to be a time where people could come together and celebrate his birthday.
Massive Birthday Party Celebration
However, throughout the week leading to the day of the event itself, the post went viral among social media users, even generating its own hashtag and viewed more than 203 million times on TikTok. Residents began coming together on Friday and Saturday in Huntington Beach where police had to respond to disperse large crowds.
Police made 149 arrests, 121 of whom were adults and 28 were juveniles, on Saturday night. Police spokesperson, Jennifer Carey, revealed the results of the operation and said people were charged with vandalism, firing dangerous/illegal fireworks, failure to disperse, and curfew violations.
While officials said there were no reports of injuries, paramedics were called on to the scene for any potential medical issue.
“We are actively monitoring multiple social media posts advertising a large gathering on the beach this weekend. The safety & well-being of our residents, visitors, businesses, & motorists is paramount, which is why the Huntington Beach Police Department is taking significant steps to prepare for the potential influx of visitors, including working closely with our regional public safety partners. Toward that end, the HBPD will also be strictly enforcing all applicable laws & ordinances throughout the weekend,” police said in a Twitter post on Friday.
Authorities said the party attendees started flowing in at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and got ready for the event. The schedule was set to begin at 7:30 p.m. but it was unclear what time people gathered on Friday, NBC News reported.
Video footage of the event was posted on TikTok showing the two nights that hundreds of people gathered in Huntington Beach. Some were seen walking through the night streets and around the beach. Other recordings showed that some of the attendees flew over from other states to California just to attend the party.
