Lil Nas X pleads not guilty to attacking cops as he walked naked on LA street

VAN NUYS – Rapper Lil Nas X, who was arrested last week after a bizarre stroll along a Los Angeles street, was charged Monday with three felony counts of battery against a police officer and a single count of resisting arrest after police say he charged at them when they confronted him.

The “Old Town Road” singer, whose real name is Montero Hill, was arrested around 6 a.m. on Thursday after being spotted walking in underwear and cowboy boots, in an apparently disoriented state, along Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, California.

The 26-year-old musician pleaded not guilty in a court appearance to three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one count of resisting an executive officer, the district attorney’s office said.

Video taken by a witness showed him strutting along the street wearing only underwear and cowboy boots, at one point placing an orange traffic cone on his head. Subsequent video showed the singer completely naked.

Police responded to the scene, and according to various reports, the rapper allegedly charged at officers. One report indicated that Hill punched an officer in the face during the struggle.

The rapper was ultimately arrested and taken to a hospital, amid concerns he may have been suffering from an overdose. He was being held without bail.

The charges were far more serious than initial reports that he was being investigated for a misdemeanor, and, with convictions, the counts could collectively bring a sentence of more than 10 years in prison for the singer and rapper whose “Old Town Road” was one of the biggest hit singles in history.

The criminal complaint filed in court Monday includes few details, but says that for each of the three officers he “did unlawfully use force and violence and inflict an injury” on a person he “reasonably should have known” was a peace officer “engaged in the performance of a duty.”

He was being held on $75,000 bail, conditional on attending drug treatment. It’s not immediately clear whether he had posted it and been released yet. A message to his attorneys was not immediately answered.

But one of them, Christy O’Connor, told a judge Lil Nas X has led a “remarkable” life that has included winning two Grammy awards.

“Assuming the allegations here are true, this is an absolute aberration in this person’s life,” O’Connor said in court, according to NBC. “Nothing like this has ever happened to him.”

The charges were first reported by TMZ.

Hill is set to return to court on Sept. 15 for his next pre-trial hearing.

The rapper and singer from Atlanta is best known for 2018’s country and hip-hop merging “Old Town Road,” which spent a record 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won him his Grammys.

Known for his genre-bending, innovating sounds and style, his first full studio album, 2021’s “Montero,” went to No. 2 on the Billboard album chart and was nominated for a Grammy for album of the year. (With reports from CNS and AP)

The post Lil Nas X pleads not guilty to attacking cops as he walked naked on LA street appeared first on USNewsRank.