Crackdown Promised At Gorge Those Going To Lollapalooza, Other Concerts Get Warning

People planning to attend this year’s edition of Lollapalooza at the Gorge Amphitheater should pack a picnic, sunscreen, blankets, and if they plan to be naughty, bail money.

Grant County authorities say they’ll be locking up people for even the most minor law violations when the alternative rock ‘n’ roll spectacle makes its annual stop in Washington on Aug. 12.

“There will be a no tolerance policy to criminal activity,” said a statement issued Friday by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. “ALL PERSONS COMMITTING CRIMINAL ACTS, WHETHER MISDEMEANOR OR FELONIES, WILL BE BOOKED INTO THE GRANT COUNTY JAIL.”

The crackdown was prompted after a riot broke out at last year’s concert.

Three people were arrested and nearly 7,000 were evicted from the amphitheater campground last July when the crowd turned against authorities who were trying to extinguish an illegal bonfire.

Concertgoers hurled rocks and bottles at fire trucks and police cars. At least two sheriff’s cruisers were damaged in the melee, Sheriff Bill Wiester said Friday.

“When we’re talking 1,000 or 2,000 out-of-control people, it’s a problem,” Wiester said.

Past concerts were calmer, and authorities let a lot of things go. Not this year.

Sheriff’s deputies and state troopers will patrol the grounds with at least 150 amphitheater security guards to maintain order, Wiester said.

“We want it to go a lot more smoothly than it went last year,” he said.

The crackdown also will apply to the Kube Summer Jam on Aug. 1 and the Phish concerts on Aug. 2-3.

Wiester warned concertgoers not to test the new policy.

“Last year, a guy came up to me, got in my face and said, ‘How are you going to arrest all 7,000 of us?”’ the sheriff said. “My comment to him was, ‘One at a time, and you’re going first.’ We’re not going to tolerate it.”

, DataTimes