A Sheriff's office in Florida has confirmed the real reason rapper 6ix9ine was arrested in Palm Beach.
The 27-year-old was arrested by West Palm Beach police on Wednesday evening and released three hours later. The incident comes just four months after 6ix9ine was assaulted at a nearby gym.
The Palm Beach Sheriff's Office (PBSO) confirmed officers first stopped 6ix9ine— whose given name is Daniel Hernandez— when they spotted a car committing an alleged traffic infraction.
"Deputies were conducting traffic enforcement in the Homeland Development when they observed a vehicle commit a moving traffic infraction. They also observed that the vehicle did not have a license tag," a PBSO spokesperson told Newsweek in an exclusive statement.
"The driver was stopped and identified as Daniel Hernandez, who had a suspended driver's license and active traffic warrant in PALMS (a law enforcement system) for FTA (failure to appear in court, for an unregistered vehicle—$2000 bond).
"He was subsequently arrested and transported to the PBC jail with no additional charges. Traffic citations were issued for today's violations."
In March, the rapper made headlines when he was allegedly assaulted by a group of men at south Miami gym.
He suffered fractured ribs and a blood clot in his eye after being the incident at a branch of gym chain LA Fitness.
Later that month, police arrested three men in association with the assault. Police confirmed they had arrested Rafael Medina Jr., 43, Octavious Medina, 23, and Anthony Maldonado, 25, for the alleged assault and robbery of 6ix9ine.
Footage emerged on social media showing a group of men standing over the rapper in the bathroom of the gym as they kicked and punched him. 6ix9ine could be seen walking away with a bloodied face and was later taken to a nearby hospital.
"He was attacked in a sauna at a gym by several thugs who beat him up," his lawyer, Lance Lazzaro, told Newsweek at the time and added the rapper "tried fighting back."
6ix9ine described the attack as "cowardly."
"I'm not mad, because I know in the streets there are no rules," he said in an interview with NBC affiliate WTVJ.
The rapper is no stranger to law enforcement and was sentenced to 24 months in prison in 2019 after first being arrested in 2018. He agreed to testify against other members of his New York gang, Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, in return for a reduced sentence.
In January 2019 he was convicted of nine charges including racketeering, firearms and drug trafficking offenses committed while he was a member of the gang.
His legal team successfully bid for him to finish his sentence under house arrest in 2020 over fears COVID-19 could severely impact his health if he were to contract it in prison.
UPDATE: 08/10/2023, 08:45 a.m ET, this story was updated to include additional information.
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