Why was Tekashi 6ix9ine arrested in New York? What we know

Photo: John Parra/Getty Images

Tekashi 6ix9ine is back in federal custody. According to Associated Pressa Manhattan judge ordered the rapper (real name Danielle Hernandez) to be held in New York for at least two weeks starting Tuesday. Why was he arrested? Like, he violated the terms of the probationary period. As you can remember from all those denunciation of memes in 2019Hernandez previously pleaded guilty to a federal racketeering charge and had his sentence reduced to two years after to testify against his former gang. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release, which meant he had to stay out of trouble in order to remain free. But according to ABC7authorities say Hernandez took an unauthorized trip to Las Vegas in September, failed drug tests and tested positive for methamphetamine. He was an hour late for a court hearing Tuesday morning, and Judge Paul A. Engelmeier signed an arrest warrant when he failed to appear.

When Hernandez arrived and learned he would be returning to prison, he apologized for his tardiness and explained that he had flown in from Florida the night before and woke up late. He suggested that he believed he had permission to go to Vegas where he was performing the show. As for the drug tests, he said he missed two appointments because he didn’t think they were necessary, describing the situation as “just a misunderstanding.” The rapper also claimed that his positive test for methamphetamine was related to prescription drugs that contained traces of the substance.

Hernandez reportedly admitted in court that he did a few “technically” wrong things, but insisted he was otherwise “clean.” Noting that “the last four years have been bad, bro,” he told the judge: “Freedom is everything to me.” This was stated by Hernandez’s lawyer, Lance Lazzaro, in a statement for NBC News that his client was ultimately charged with three technical violations related to his supervised release. “We’re confident that every specification will be rejected,” Lazzaro said. Hernandez is currently being held at the Brooklyn Detention Center. Its next meeting is scheduled for November 12.