Why was Tyler, The Creator arrested in Austin in 2014?
Tyler, the Creator has had his fair share of legal issues through the years, but his arrest in 2014 was among the more serious of them. He was playing at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas that year, when he was accused of doing something incredibly dangerous.
Tyler’s performance was held at a venue called the Scoot Inn, which had been limited to 999 attendees. Some barriers were erected and security deployed to make sure this limit wasn’t surpassed, but Tyler, allegedly, intervened to try and get more people in.
The rapper, who was 23 at the time, was accused of trying to encourage people to barge past the barriers to make their way inside. Speaking into the mic, he reportedly told them, “Just run in right now… Do it!… Push! Push! Push!”
Reports from the scene later described how people pushed through the guards, who were helpless to stop them. The gig’s organisers responded by cutting off sound from the stage, but they changed their minds about that. They apparently feared that violence could break out from the crowd if they prevented Tyler from playing.
A police statement later accused Tyler, referred to as “the subject,” of encouraging his fans to “force themselves past venue employees controlling access at the venue which was already at full capacity.” This act, which they characterised as “the encouragement of unruly and unlawful behaviour,” is against the law, they said, and couldn’t be tolerated.
Tyler wasn’t actually arrested at the venue, but, the following day, as he sought to catch a flight at the airport, he was picked up and arrested, accused of inciting a riot. This meant he was facing a maximum of a year in prison, plus a fine of $4,000.
Tyler was allowed to leave Austin, and he made it to his next gig in Dallas on time. The incident hung over him for some time, but, in 2018, word emerged that he’d reached a plea agreement with prosecutors that saw the charges dropped.
He wasn’t sent to jail. He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, which was less serious than the initial riot accusation, and he paid a small fine of $100. Provided he didn’t get into legal trouble again for the following three months, that would be that.
In response to the charges being dropped, a Drexel University law professor spoke to an outlet called the Statesman about Tyler’s case, claiming that there had been a “hyperfocus” on Tyler as a Black artist. This, he believed, had been disproportionate to the alleged crime.