American rapper Meek Mill was briefly detained by New York City police in the early hours of Saturday morningoutside a Manhattan nightclub, sparking widespread online reactions.
Footage obtained by TMZ showed the rapper standing with his hands behind his back as officers surrounded him outside a Halloween party, while a crowd looked on.
Meek Mill later addressed the incident on X (formerly Twitter), describing it as humiliating and unwarranted.
“They just pulled me out the car and cuffed me in front of the whole club, embarrassed the s**t out of me in NYC!” he wrote.
“I’m not scared to go outside without a gun … they had guns in my face for no reason. Smh, I thought it was a prank.”
According to TMZ, police responded to a report of a man with a firearm around 4 a.m., stopping a vehicle that matched the suspect’s description and license plate. However, no weapon was found, and Meek, along with two others in the car, was released without arrest.
Meek Mill, whose real name is Robert Rihmeek Williams, has had previous legal run-ins. In 2008, he was convicted of possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a loaded firearm by a felon, receiving a sentence of 11 to 23 months in prison and eight years of probation.
He was released after seven months in 2009 under a probation agreement but was later arrested in 2012 for suspected marijuana use and violating parole by traveling for concerts.
In January 2023, the rapper was granted a pardon for his 2008 convictions by outgoing Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, according to the Associated Press.
While no charges were filed following this latest incident, Meek’s comments highlight his ongoing frustration with law enforcement encounters, particularly given his well-documented history with the U.S. criminal justice system.
