Prosecutors Decline Filing Rioting Charges On Group Arrested After NE OKC Block Party

A group accused of rioting at a northeast Oklahoma City block party was charged this week by the Oklahoma County District Attorney. 

The DA’s office confirmed they declined to file felony rioting charges against nine people arrested in connection to the party, instead prosecutors charged them each with a misdemeanor for refusing to disperse.

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1. 9 Charged, Accused Of Rioting At NE Oklahoma City Block Party
2. Block Party Leads To Rioting Arrests In Oklahoma City

Police said the nine arrested were among a crowd of about 300 people earlier this month. The large crowd gathered on Northeast 34th Street near Lindsay Avenue for a birthday party. The party was just outside one neighbor's home. She spoke to News 9 last week.

“I mean they were out here dancing, having fun,” the neighbor said. “Nobody was out here acting erratic, wasn’t nobody fighting.”

However, someone in the area did not like the loud music and the growing crowd. 

Police were called to investigate. When officers arrived, they asked the party host to shut it down.

“It was about a half-hour later to an hour later that officers were called back out to the scene,” Msgt. Gary Knight with the Oklahoma City Police Department said. “Because apparently the block party was still going on.”

The witness said the second time police went out to check on the party, the crowd refused to disperse. Officers were armed with less-lethal weapons and had to physically remove people. One woman was arrested that night, and police issued warrants for eight other people they said were part of a riot.

A neighbor admitted the gathering got out of hand but would not have described it as a riot.

“When you say rioting, I look at it as in where’s the vandalism?,” the neighbor sais. “Where is the burned down property? Like where is it at?”

The bonds of those arrested were lowered from hundreds of thousands of dollars to $500. Only one person remained in custody.