Coachella 2026: 97 people arrested during weekend one, mostly for drug possession
Local police have confirmed that almost 100 people were arrested during the first weekend of Coachella.
The festival, which is due to taker place again in Indio, California, between April 17th and 19th, saw more than 100,000 revellers take to the desert last weekend for headline sets from Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G.
However, like any festival of this scale, there were a small majority, in this case 97, who found themselves on the wrong side of the law.
The majority of the 97 arrests that occurred were for drug possession, which made up 57 of the instances, per CBS Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, 14 individuals were arrested for false identification, three were reprimanded for drug or alcohol intoxication, and one individual was arrested for property crime.
Intriguingly, 20 individuals were merely categorised as “other”, with no further explanation provided for their arrests.
In addition to the arrests, a surprisingly high 32 people were issued citations for the unlawful use of a disabled person’s placard.
Coachella returns again this weekend with largely the same line-up as last weekend, apart from Kacey Musgraves performing at the Mojave on Saturday at 3:00pm, which was filled by Jack White for a surprise set during weekend one.
Major talking points from the first weekend of Coachella include the cancellation of Anyma’s set following Sabrina Carpenter on the main stage due to strong winds. However, barring any complications with the weather, the French DJ is due to perform this weekend.
Justin Bieber’s headline set also grabbed headlines thanks to his decision to focus on his new music, only playing a small portion of his old songs, which he sang along to from a backing track on YouTube that played via his laptop.
Meanwhile, The XX made their first festival appearance in eight years, The Strokes showed they’re still made for the biggest stages, and Nine Inch Noize brought a specially-curated show like no other.
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