The Washington County Sheriff's Office beefed up patrols Saturday and Sunday after a brawl involving dozens of juveniles and young adults broke out Friday night at the Washington County Fair.
Brawl breaks out at Washington County Fair
More than 50 juveniles and young adults were involved; two were cited.
August 7, 2023 at 4:51PM
The county fair was held in Lake Elmo from Aug. 2 through 6.
The fight began Friday night about 10:30 p.m. in the carnival area, said Laura Perkins, spokesperson for the Washington County Sheriff's Office.
Reports of how many people were involved varied from 40 to 100, she said, and they appeared to be known to each other. It was a fistfight, with no weapons involved.
Perkins said she had no information about what caused the fight.
"I've been around here since 1994 … and we haven't had anything like this ever," said Dorie Ostertag, fair manager and treasurer.
Ostertag said racial slurs may have contributed to the fight — or what actually ended up being two fights, both inside the fair. She wasn't sure if they involved different groups.
Once deputies ended the fight at the fair, the brawl began again at the Holiday gas station across the street, Perkins said, until deputies broke things up again.
"That fight was able to be controlled and dispersed," Perkins said. "Everything was cleaned up before midnight."
Two teenagers were cited for misdemeanors — a 15-year-old-boy was cited for misdemeanor assault and an 18-year-old man was cited for disorderly conduct. Both are Washington County residents.
Patrols were doubled at the fair on Saturday and Sunday, Perkins said, and there were no other known incidents.
"We needed to nip this in the bud," Ostertag said of hiring the extra deputies. "They're going to know that we're not going to … stand by and let them take down a good event."
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