In news that gives literal meaning to the Feds are watching, Meek Mill was arrested in New York City on Thursday night for reckless endangerment, after the NYPD caught the rapper and his associates illegally riding dirt bikes in Inwood on Wednesday night in a since-deleted video posted to Mill’s Instagram. According to police, Mill violated local traffic laws by riding his motorcycle without a helmet and popping wheelies in and out of upper Manhattan traffic. Mill reportedly recorded his arrest on Instagram Live, where an officer is heard telling Mill, “I got pictures and video of you riding up and down.†Mill had been in town for his Thursday-night performance on the Tonight Show.
In a statement, Mill’s lawyer said he believes the rapper was targeted because of his celebrity: “That level of investigation is normally reserved for heinous crimes, not for petty offenses like doing a wheelie on the street where you’re endangering no one’s life but your own.†It’s unclear why the NYPD was monitoring Mill’s Instagram, but the rapper spent 90 days on house arrest last year for violating probation and was reportedly charged with assaulting an airport employee in March. According to TMZ, he won’t be charged with a felony for this latest incident and it will instead be treated as a misdemeanor.
This post has been updated throughout.