More than 400 people arrested at Fourth of July ‘TikTok takeover’ in California

Thousands of people descend on Newport Beach, drawn by flash mob-style meetup organized online

An alleged TikTok takeover" sparked mayhem in a southern California beach town over the Fourth of July weekend, leading to fires, roughly 400 arrests and officers on horseback for crowd control.

Thousands of people descended on Newport Beach, California, on Saturday night, many drawn by an online flash mob-style meetup, according to a city statement. Balboa Peninsula was already packed with tens of thousands of Fourth of July revelers, but as night fell, officials said, a large crowd obstructed traffic, set fires and hurled explosives at law enforcement officers.