Fireworks and fights: Hundreds arrested at Fourth of July celebration in Newport Beach

A Fourth of July celebration erupted into chaos in Newport Beach, leading to more than 400 arrests by local law enforcement. Officers were dispatched to the Newport Peninsula about 7 p.m. Saturday following reports that large crowds were lighting fireworks and fighting, per City News Service. Digital footage obtained by The Times showed large aerial fireworks lighted at close range, while another video showed fireworks being thrown by an unknown individual into the crowd. In another clip obtained by The Times, one individual with a Spider-Man mask was seen climbing a traffic light before leading the crowd in a chant: "USA, USA, USA." Emily Alcala, 18, who traveled from Las Vegas to Newport and stayed with family nearby, described the scene as terrorizing. "It's very unsafe to have fireworks popped in the middle of crowds," Alcala said. "There was a firework to your left, [then] you run to your right and there was a firework [there]. It was very chaotic. There was no way that you could go that was safe at all." Other videos uploaded to social media showed individuals carrying broken street signs and looting at the nearby Pavilions grocery store on West Balboa Boulevard.