More than 200 arrested for drunken and disorderly conduct at unruly Jeep celebration in Texas
More than 230 people face charges as a Jeep celebration in Texas spilled into drunken and disorderly conduct with more than three dozen people heading to the hospital.
The Jeep Weekend in Galveston is also known as ‘Go Topless Weekend,’ an annual beach party that was expected to draw up to 10,000 people to Crystal Beach.
The event was originally meant to become a way for Jeep enthusiasts to show off their vehicles, but it has become an annual tribute to all off-road cars in recent years.
Galveston County Emergency Services and other state and county authorities had been planning for months for this weekend’s festival, which draws a multitude of visitors to the Bolivar Peninsula from around the region.
‘This event is usually very taxing on our resources,’ Major Ray Nolen of the county’s sheriff’s office said Sunday.
In addition to the arrests, more than three dozen were hospitalized during the revelry.
This weekend was the ‘Go Topless’ Jeep celebration near Galveston, Texas, and was expected to draw 10,000 people.
More than 230 people were arrested on drunken and disorderly conduct charges during the event.
There were also 40 people hospitalized during this year’s event.
Local police have often said that it’s as busy as a public holiday, according to The Galveston County Daily News.
It has since become a party and booze bash, with the ‘Go Topless Weekend’ aspect meaning more than just cars without roofs.
At least 120 law enforcement officers were assigned for the four-day event, he added.
Over 200 charges, mostly misdemeanors, were filed on Sunday alone, according to KTRK.
EMS workers have hospitalized about 40 people ‘for various minor injuries and illnesses’ according to Nolen.
Local police have often said that the vent is as busy as a public holiday with 120 officers assigned to the event.
The event started as a Jeep celebration but has grown into a party and booze bash.
Over 200 charges, mostly misdemeanors, were handed out by police on Sunday alone
The number of arrests is up to 175 during the 2022 arrest, when 198 charges were filed
The number of arrests rose from last year when 175 arrests resulting in 198 charges were filed.
On the positive side, injuries and hospitalizations were down by over 60 from last year’s event.
But Jeep enthusiasts insist the festival is tarnished by other groups who use the opportunity to misbehave and annoy residents who complain the beaches are left full of trash.
The event has become so wild that official Jeep clubs have started to pull out of it and hold separate events, with many locals expressing their disdain for the whole gathering.
‘I don’t think anyone who lives here particularly likes Jeep Weekend,’ Anne Willis, president of the Bolivar Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, said ahead of this edition of the event.
Jeep enthusiasts insist the festival is tarnished by other groups who use the opportunity to misbehave and annoy residents who complain the beaches are left full of trash.
The event has become so wild that official Jeep clubs have started to pull out of it and hold separate events, with many locals expressing their disdain for the whole gathering.
‘I don’t think anyone who lives here particularly likes Jeep Weekend,’ Anne Willis, president of the Bolivar Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, said ahead of this edition of the event.
Some are still here for the cars at Jeep Weekend in Galveston County
Some political messages were displayed at the event.
‘I think it’s a nuisance. It’s not so much the event, but the people who tag along that don’t have Jeeps.’
Last year’s event saw a sheriff’s deputy break both his legs and an arm after being hit by a car while he directed traffic.
In both 2019 and 2021, a person died at Jeep Weekend.
‘We’re just trying to maintain order and keep everybody safe,’ Nolen said.
The Texas Open Beaches Act allows for free public use of the beach and there is no way to limit crowd numbers, with the only remedy being a larger police presence, Sheriff Trochesset explained.
There are similar ‘Go Topless’ events organized by motorists across the country and the name comes from the Jeep Wrangler’s removable roof.