Coachella arrests total
- Law enforcement arrested 203 people over Coachella’s two weekends this year, officials reported. (ktla.com) - The reported offenses included public intoxication, illegal drug possession, and use of fake identification. (ktla.com) - Arrests were slightly down from last year as organizers and police reviewed crowd-control and safety measures. (ktla.com)
Indio police arrested 203 people across Coachella’s two April 2026 weekends, a slight drop from the 223 arrests reported in 2025. (ktla.com) The second weekend, held April 17-19 at the Empire Polo Club, accounted for 106 arrests. Police said those cases included 52 for alleged drug possession, 13 for fake identification and eight for intoxication. (cbsnews.com) The first weekend, April 10-12, brought 97 arrests. Police said 59 were for drug possession, 14 for false identification and three for drug or alcohol intoxication. (cbsnews.com) Police also issued 85 citations during the final weekend and 32 during the first weekend for unlawful use of a disabled-person placard. Sgt. Abe Plata of the Indio Police Department said most festivalgoers caused no trouble despite the size of the crowd. (ktla.com) Coachella ran April 10-12 and April 17-19 this year in Indio, with the festival site holding about 125,000 people per day. CBS Los Angeles reported the event typically draws more than 120,000 people daily. (coachella.com, cbsnews.com) The arrests came as Riverside County deputies warned before the festival that they would step up impaired-driving enforcement. In an April 7 notice, the sheriff’s office said deputies would be looking for drug-impaired drivers throughout Coachella weekend starting April 11. (riversidesheriff.org) Festival season carries a large local footprint beyond the police blotter. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said on April 13 that Coachella and Stagecoach together generate more than $700 million a year for California’s economy and support more than 10,000 temporary jobs in the Coachella Valley. (gov.ca.gov) The next test for police and organizers comes immediately. Stagecoach opens at the same Empire Polo Club on April 24, after Coachella closed with arrests slightly below last year’s total but above the 193 reported in 2024. (cbsnews.com, ktla.com)
