Incident on the last evening of the Arlington County Fair triggers major police operation

Arlington County police officers on duty during the final night of the county fair requested backup after they were reportedly attacked during an arrest.

The incident occurred on Sunday evening shortly before 9 p.m., an hour before the fair closed, on the upper soccer field of the Thomas Jefferson Community Center grounds.

All available police units in the county were dispatched to assist officers, who reported a crowd “throwing objects at us while we were trying to arrest someone” and requested assistance in clearing people from the soccer field. Numerous police vehicles were then seen rushing to the scene near the intersection of Route 50 and Irving Street.

The exact circumstances of the incident are currently unclear. Arlington County Police did not respond to a request for comment from ARLnow, first sent last night, and the response to the incident was quickly diverted to an encrypted police radio channel.

Several informants described the incident to ARLnow as a “near-riot.” Another said her daughter and other convention attendees were caught up in the chaos.

“They closed everything. But they didn't tell people to leave. There was a big fight and a few kids were arrested,” the informant said last night. “She sought protection from a friend because she said there were a lot of police on the streets everywhere.”