Near-riot in Hollywood: Debate over who is to blame

Questions are already emerging about who is to blame for the near-riot on Hollywood Boulevard on Wednesday during the premiere of the "Electric Daisy Carnival Experience" film screening.

The Los Angeles Police Department arrested two people on suspicion of felony vandalism in connection with damage to the windshields and roofs of three police cruisers.

The screening for the movie, which documented one of the nation's largest electronic dance parties, had been a private, invitation-only event promoted for weeks.

But a popular deejay known as Kaskade may have encouraged hundreds of uninvited fans to converge on Hollywood when he tweeted about a block party, police and organizers said.

Pasquale Rotella, chief executive of rave producer Insomniac Inc., issued a statement saying the organization was not to blame for the problems.

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"I want to make clear that while this film showcased an Insomniac event, Insomniac had nothing to do with the supposed 'block party,' which was not a part of the premiere. The crowd issues that arose were a result of individuals responding to social media information which mistakenly led them to believe they could see artists perform.

"Despite the crowd's unruly behavior, while the movie premiere did take place, even I was unable to attend the premiere of a movie that I have worked tirelessly to produce.

"Insomniac strongly believes in personal responsibility and hopes that anyone who didn’t comply with police orders is held accountable."

About 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Kaskade tweeted to his 90,000 Twitter followers that he was heading to Grauman's Chinese Theatre for a block party: "ME+BIG SPEAKERS+MUSIC=BLOCK PARTY!!!”

Later, tweets from the DJ reflected the scene unfolding. About 7:30 p.m. he tweeted: “News choppers overhead. The man trying to shut us down. Hang on I am coming!!! This is crazy.”

Shortly thereafter, he wrote, “EVERYONE NEEDS TO GO HOME NOW! I DON'T WANT THIS TO REFLECT BADLY ON EDM OR WHAT WE ARE

The LAPD is continuing to investigate the incident.

-- Andrew Blankstein in Los Angeles and Ricardo Lopez in Hollywood

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Photo: Police in riot gear respond to the disturbance outside the "Electric Daisy" film premiere. Credit: Jay Clendenin / Los Angeles Times