Concert Arrests Keep Court Busy Saturday Hearings For Dozens Spill Over From Event Sheriff Tried To Stop

Sun., Sept. 14, 1997

Associated Press

A rock concert that the Grant County sheriff tried in vain to stop kept law enforcement officials busy over the weekend long after the last chords echoed across the Columbia River.

No major problems were reported from the Rage against the Machine concert Friday night at the Gorge Amphitheater, but 79 people were arrested, most on underage drinking, marijuana smoking and other minor charges, sheriff’s Lt. Ron Wilkinson said.

Some were still waiting to be booked into jail Saturday.

District Court Judge Janice Whitener-Moberg conducted misdemeanor hearings Saturday, and an undetermined number of people were released on bail of $250 to $500 or on personal recognizance, Wilkinson said.

He estimated the number of felony arrests, chiefly on charges of delivering marijuana, at no more than half a dozen.

Unsuccessful in a bid for a court order to halt the concert, Sheriff William Wiester assembled the largest law enforcement team ever for a performance at the natural amphitheater near George, 25 miles southwest of the county seat.

Supplementing his forces were 50 other officers - sheriff’s deputies from neighboring Chelan, Kittitas and Lincoln counties, state Fish and Wildlife agents and police from Soap Lake, Royal City and Warden.

Universal Concerts Inc. doubled its private security force to 240 people, and 50 uniformed personnel patrolled around the amphitheater and in the nearby campground.

Rage Against the Machine features angry lyrics blasting the American government and perceived social injustices. Fans said they came for the group’s music, not to riot.

“They express their political views through the music,” said David Schaefer, 20, Spokane. “They are well-schooled so you know that when they sing they aren’t just blowing wind up your skirt.”

The amphitheater holds 18,500 people.

Last month a 19-year-old man died of a drug overdose, a 21-year-old man died when he fell from an open car window and more than 500 concert-goers were cited during the KUBE Summer Jam and Phish shows.

During a Lollapalooza concert in July 1996, a melee in the campground resulted in the eviction of more than 7,000 people.

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