Lil Tjay went on Instagram Live on Tuesday, showing a tense interaction with the NYPD that led to the Bronx native's arrest.
XXL initially claimed police pulled over the 22-year-old for a traffic stop. The outlet, as well as TMZ and others, subsequently received a statement from lawyer Dawn Florio reading, "Lil Tjay was arrested by the police in New York City while he was on Instagram Live. He was filming a snippet for a music video. My client was not arrested for firing a loaded firearm or possessing a loaded firearm. The arrest charge was Reckless Endangerment."
In the video below, Tjay tells law enforcement, "Nah. Do not cuff me, bro. Do not touch me, bro. What am I under arrest for?"
An officer commands Tjay to turn around and he declines. "No, n***a," he says, still holding the phone. "No, bro. Hell no. ... 'What's in the car?' I don't know what's in the car. Don't touch me. There's no firearm in the car."
At the end of the clip, someone else has picked up the phone and Tjay can be seen surrounded by at least a half-dozen officers, seemingly being handcuffed.
Video then emerged showing Tjay being taken into custody:
On Sunday, Tjay was filmed in an incident at Summer Jam 2023. Video shows him being held back by multiple people in order to stop him from getting into a physical altercation.
According to XXL, the blowup happened backstage at UBS Arena in New York, either before or after his performance.
The clip shows Tjay furious as his security team prevents him from going after someone who reportedly hit him first. One of the bodyguards even has to hold the rapper around his waist in order to restrain him.
"You're gonna get fired," Tjay says. "Do not touch me."
The person behind the camera shares what happened, saying, "N***a popped on Lil Tjay, bro.”
Last month, the 22-year-old’s attorney addressed his arrest from back in January, which took place during a music video shoot with Ice Spice.
“This arrest is not a new gun charge,” Dawn Florio said of Tjay being booked for unlawful possession of a firearm without a permit. “He had to turn himself in for the case where he was a victim where he was shot multiple times.”
Florio recognized that Tjay was booked even though he was the alleged victim of the incident, writing, “The allegation is that there were guns in the car.”
