Text messaging provoked ‘flash mob’ at Rye Playland and led to the arrests of 15 Muslims: cops

Text messaging provoked a “flash mob” at Rye Playland last week and led to the arrests of 15 Muslims upset that women in head scarves were barred from some rides, a police official said Tuesday.

Westchester Public Safety Commissioner George Longworth told a committee investigating the incident that cops had brought the disturbance under control until people started text messaging.

“At that point we experienced a phenomenon that law enforcement has experienced across the country called flash mobs, where groups tend to gather rapidly because of texting,” Longworth said.

Up to 3,000 Muslims were at the county-owned park last Thursday to celebrate the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Some Muslim women, wearing hijabs, vented at cops over a policy banning head gear on rides.

The initial confrontation led to the arrest of five people, who scuffled with police. Longworth said people began text messaging, and a group grew from “25 to 100 in five or six minutes.”

He said the crowd became unruly, forcing officials to close the park and call in up to 100 cops to quell the situation.

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