Sheriff: charges possible in Friday night incident following canceled State Fair concert

MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) – The Ward County State’s Attorney’s Office is determining whether any criminal charges will be filed in the chaos that ensued at the North Dakota State Fairgrounds Friday night following the cancellation of Kid Rock’s performance, according to the county sheriff.

Sheriff Bob Roed said a 45-year-old man who jumped on the stage has yet to be arrested or charged, but was issued a letter of trespass, and banned from the fairgrounds for the rest of the year.

The show was canceled around 10:30 p.m. Friday night after wind gusts were pushing the suspended video monitors and speaker blocks on either side of the stage back and forth, creating a safety concern. State fair leadership issued a statement the next day, indicating it was a joint a decision between the fair, the local authorities, and Kid Rock to cancel.

Severe weather impacted areas north of Minot Friday night, and a tornado warning expired at 9:45 p.m., though post-storm winds continued. Kid Rock’s opener Night Ranger was able to perform, and the rest of the fair continued its operations as normal.

After Roed told the crowd the show was canceled, some of the roughly 18,000 fans who had been waiting for more than an hour for Kid Rock to begin performing became unruly, throwing beer cups and bottles on the stage.

A security guard tackled one fan shortly after they jumped on the stage, and Roed indicated a fairgoer triggered a confetti machine.

Eventually, the crowd calmed down, and exited the venue. There were no reports of serious injuries.

Your News Leader reached out to Ward County State’s Attorney Roza Larson for comment, and are awaiting a response.

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