Killer Mike arrested on misdemeanor battery charge after winning 3 Grammys
Killer Mike accepts the "Best Rap Song" award for "Scientists & Engineers" onstage during the 66th GRAMMY Awards at Peacock Theater on Feb. 4, 2024, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
LOS ANGELES - Killer Mike was arrested on Sunday in Los Angeles shortly after winning three awards at the 66th annual Grammy Awards.
The 48-year-old rapper and activist was detained after "a physical altercation" that occurred just after 4 p.m. local time in the 700 block of Chick Hearn Court, which is a street right outside where the ceremony was held at Crypto.com Arena in Downtown Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
According to Rolling Stone, a female security officer claims she was injured by Killer Mike, whose real name is Michael Render, during the event. A law enforcement source told the outlet that the musician approached the security guard at her assigned entrance at the arena, and she asked Render for his ticket.
The source shared that the woman explained Render tried to allegedly go around her instead of going through a security checkpoint. She then "ran around and got in front of him again."
Per the outlet, Render allegedly "pushed her to the ground." The security guard allegedly suffered from injuries on her hand and fingers. The source told the outlet that the woman called out for help, which prompted other security guards to circle Render and call the police.
The female security guard received medical attention, took photos of her alleged injuries and signed a citizen's arrest for misdemeanor battery, the outlet reported.
Render was arrested and booked on a misdemeanor battery charge and released on his own recognizance at 8:37 p.m. He is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 29 in Los Angeles.
Video posted on X by a staff writer from The Hollywood Reporter showed the rapper being escorted in handcuffs.
Someone in the video asks, "Mike, are you serious?"
"Yeah, yeah I’m serious," Killer Mike can be heard saying as he walks away.
The Atlanta native and hip hop icon won three Grammys earlier in the evening: best rap song ("Scientists and Engineers" featuring André 3000), best rap album ("Michael") and best rap performance ("Scientists and Engineers" featuring André 3000).
Killer Mike is half of the hip-hop duo Run the Jewels, with Brooklyn-based rapper and producer El-P.
The rapper is known not just for his influence on music, but also for his advocacy for Atlanta. He also owns a growing empire of barbershops.
FOX News contributed to this report. This story was reported from Cincinnati. Heather Miller contributed.