Thirty arrests in Dinkytown after riots on July 4

A riot broke out in Dinkytown at midnight Friday when groups of young adults began firing fireworks at police officers, civilians and their cars after Fourth of July celebrations. Although grenade launchers and rockets were thrown directly at passersby, no one was seriously injured.

Between midnight and 3 a.m., Minneapolis police arrested 30 people, confiscated dozens of illegal fireworks, and issued five citations.

Most are charged with rioting, but those who targeted others face aggravated assault charges, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, a number that will likely increase as other agencies deployed across the city complete their reports.

“We know today is the Fourth of July and some people are going to be setting off fireworks,” O’Hara said. “We’re most concerned about this really, really dangerous — and just stupid — behavior of setting them off at people.”

Of those arrested, 27 were adults and eight were juveniles; in total, they were between 15 and 23 years old. According to police, 28 of them were not from Minneapolis and five of them did not have a driver’s license from Kansas, Massachusetts and Maine.

“It’s dangerous for the people who come, for the children who come to see this – it’s dangerous for everyone,” O’Hara said. “It’s ridiculous that our residents and other people who visit our city have to deal with this egregious behavior.”

Police say much of the crowd gathering is due to social media “pop-up” invitations, posts encouraging people to come to Minneapolis and cause trouble.

Unlike in previous years, police did not observe any gun violence. There were four shootings on July 4 last year, and seven people were shot on Boom Island in 2022.

“It’s not as bad as last year, and the problems we’ve seen are here in Dinkytown on the east side of the river,” O’Hara said.

In preparation for possible Fourth of July violence, police have increased security measures and closed streets. The department has deployed 200 additional officers this year and has been assisted by 50 police officers from the Minnesota State Patrol, Minneapolis Parks Police and the University of Minnesota Police. Police say the presence will be further increased over the weekend because of Taste of Minnesota.