Coachella Arrests Rise

Indio police arrested 106 people during Coachella’s second weekend, pushing the 2026 festival’s two-week arrest total to 203. (cbsnews.com) Police said 52 of the weekend-two arrests were for alleged drug possession, 13 were for alleged false identification, eight were for alleged drug or alcohol intoxication, and 33 were listed as other offenses. (cbsnews.com) The first weekend produced 97 arrests, including 59 for drug possession, 14 for false identification, three for intoxication and one property-crime arrest, according to the Indio Police Department. (cbsnews.com) KESQ, citing police data, reported weekend-two arrests were lower than the 128 recorded in 2025 but higher than the 112 in 2024 and 80 in 2023. Weekend one was slightly above the 95 arrests reported in 2025. (kesq.com) Police also issued 85 citations over the two weekends for unlawful use of a disabled placard, on top of 32 such citations during the first weekend alone. Officials said traffic around the Empire Polo Club stayed steady during the festival. (cbsnews.com, kesq.com) The arrest numbers landed as Coachella drew roughly 125,000 people a day and sold tickets at $649 for weekend one and $549 for weekend two, before resale markups and travel costs. (yahoo.com) The Los Angeles Times reported weekend-one general admission passes reached $4,000 to $5,000 on StubHub before the festival, while shuttle passes ran $130 to $180 and on-site camping cost $150 to more than $400. (yahoo.com) That gap between festival scale and policing is part of Coachella’s annual footprint in Indio, where the event and Stagecoach together support more than 10,000 temporary jobs in the Coachella Valley and bring about $700 million into California’s economy, according to a statement cited by CBS Los Angeles. (cbsnews.com) Coachella ended on April 19, and the same Empire Polo Club site is now turning over to Stagecoach, the next major festival on the valley’s spring calendar. (cbsnews.com)