Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™ LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE

Tyler, The Creator, 'incited riot' at SXSW

US rapper Tyler, The Creator, has been arrested for allegedly inciting a riot at the South by Southwest festival in Texas.

Rapper Tyler, The Creator, has been arrested for allegedly inciting a riot during a show at the South By Southwest music festival.

Travis County Sheriff's spokesman Roger Wade said the Odd Future rapper, whose name is Tyler Gregory Okonma, was arrested at Austin-Bergstrom Airport and was likely to be arraigned later on Saturday. If convicted of inciting a riot, which is a misdemeanor, he faces up to a year in jail and a $US4,000 ($A4,445.68) fine.

His bond was set at $US3,500.

The rapper's publicist declined to comment about the arrest.

Police say the 23-year-old Los Angeles resident incited a large crowd of fans at the annual music conference and festival to push their way past venue employees controlling access to a Thursday show that was already at full capacity.

Officers who were at the scene said in a warrant that Tyler yelled for fans to push their way inside twice, and that a bartender had to protect a woman from injury in the resulting push.

Police released a video from the concert that shows scores of fans bursting through a gate at the Scoot Inn in downtown Austin.

Tyler and members of the Odd Future collective were denied a visa to travel to New Zealand in February after officials there said they were a potential "public threat" because of past troubles, "including incidents at past performances in which they have incited violence".

They pointed to a 2011 incident in which police were called to a comic book store in Boston where fans became unruly.

The group's manager, Christian Clancy, defended them in February after the New Zealand decision, saying they were young at the time and were being judged too harshly.


2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Watch now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world