Odd Future’s Tyler, The Creator, who appeared at CraveOnline’s SXSW Music Showcase this week, was arrested Saturday for allegedly inciting a riot while taking part in the festival.
Huffington Post reports that Travis County Sheriff’s spokesman Roger Wade said the 23 year-old rapper, real name Tyler Gregory Okonma, was arrested at Austin-Bergstrom Airport and will be arraigned later Saturday. If convicted of inciting a riot, which is a misdemeanor, he faces up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. His bond was set at $3,500.
Police reportedly allege that Tyler urged a large crowd of fans to push their way past venue employees working the door at the Scoot Inn to a Thursday show that was already at full capacity. The warrant claims that Tyler yelled for fans to push their way inside twice, and that a bartender had to protect a woman from injury as a result.
Tyler and the Odd Future collective were refused entry to New Zealand last month after officials there said they were a potential “public threat” due to their reputation for “incidents at past performances in which they have incited violence.”
Photo: Johnny Firecloud