American rapper Nelly has been arrested in Missouri on multiple charges.
Early Wednesday morning, Nelly was arrested for possession of four illegal ecstasy pills, according to Missouri Highway Patrol. He had an outstanding warrant stemming from a 2018 traffic charge, when he was found driving without insurance, dating back to December 2023. He had allegedly failed to appear in court for the charge.
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Nelly’s attorney, Scott Rosenblum, said that after the 49-year-old multiple-Grammy-winner won several casino jackpots and attempted to collect his earnings, an “overjealous” officer supervising the transaction decided to run an identity verification, including a search for warrants. When he found the outstanding one, Nelly was cuffed and they proceeded to “parade him through the casino in front of other customers,” Rosenblum said.
The arrest report shows Nelly was arrested at 4:45 AM and subsequently released. Prosecutors have yet to charge him with a crime.
Rosenblum labeled the four pills “alleged ‘ecstasy’”—in scare quotes. The attorney also claimed the officer lacked probable cause to search him, and that Nelly was not made aware of the warrant in the first place.
“Any other citizen would have been told to address it and allowed to go on their way,” Rosenblum said.
Though widely beloved, having created some of the most well-known singles of the 2000s and pushing boundaries in his genre, Nelly has long been an underrated songwriter.
This isn’t the first time Nelly has run into trouble with the law, however. Back in 2015, he faced felony drug charges in Tennessee after authorities searched the rapper’s tour bus and found methamphetamines and marijuana. At the time, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. Within a year of probation, he was able to have his record expunged, according to the Associated Press.
Two years later, in 2017, he was arrested again in Washington when a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her on his tour bus. Rosenblum also stated those claims were fabricated, and the dispute was settled in 2018—after, Nelly countersued.
This recent arrest comes just months after Nelly and his wife, the also-iconic R&B singer Ashanti, announced they’re expecting a baby.
“I am 100% confident this case will go nowhere,” Rosenblum said. “And we will be asking for an inquiry into this officer’s conduct.”
