After TikTok party, a third rowdy night in Huntington Beach ends in 29 arrests

A raucous weekend in Huntington Beach continued Sunday, when a crowd of nearly 150 people began throwing fireworks at police officers, prompting authorities to declare an unlawful assembly for the third night in a row.

Twenty-nine people, including 13 juveniles, were booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, firing dangerous and illegal fireworks, resisting arrest and failure to disperse, Huntington Beach Police Department spokesperson Jennifer Carey said.

“That was really what started the escalation of the incident, and those were the reasons for many of the arrests,” Carey said of the fireworks. No injuries were reported, she added, but an unlawful assembly was declared shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday.

The unruly behavior followed two previous nights of outdoor partying, stemming from a viral TikTok video posted last week that invited people to “Adrian’s kickback” birthday party. Unlawful assemblies were declared Friday and Saturday nights as thousands flooded the area. Huntington Beach police never found “Adrian,” Carey said, but more than 100 others were arrested.

Based on social media posts, police suspected the party would last all weekend long, Carey said. But the event that drew the most attention occurred Saturday night, when at least 2,500 people — most in their teens or early 20s — filled the Huntington Beach Pier and downtown streets.

The crowd grew rowdy, as people lit fireworks, danced atop police cars and threw bottles and other debris. More than 150 officers from multiple agencies in Orange County responded, police said, and authorities eventually issued an emergency overnight curfew that went into effect at 11:30 p.m.

When some in the crowd refused to leave late Saturday, police rounded up 150 people — including 28 juveniles — who are expected to face charges of vandalism, failure to disperse, curfew violations and fireworks offenses, officials said.

Community members flocked to the downtown area Sunday morning to clean up from the previous night, and much of the mess was gone by midday.

“That was a great thing to see,” Carey said.

But by Sunday evening, revelers had returned to the area for another rambunctious evening.

Times staff writers Tony Barboza and Alex Wigglesworth and Times Community News staff writer Matt Szabo contributed to this report.