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Lil Nas X pleads not guilty to felony battery after LA arrest

The rapper is facing three counts of battery on a police officer and one count of resisting arrest

Nights and Weekends Editor

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Lil Nas X attends the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 03, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Lil Nas X attends the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 03, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

Lil Nas X appeared at his arraignment on Monday and pleaded not guilty to four felony counts stemming from his arrest last week.

The “Montero” singer was taken into custody in Los Angeles on Friday, after police responded to calls about a man walking down Ventura Blvd. Videos shared by TMZ show a man who appeared to be Lil Nas X walking down the center of the Los Angeles street in his underwear and cowboy boots.

Authorities allege that the rapper, whose real name is Montero Hill, charged them and struck them before he was arrested. Police say Hill was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of a possible overdose after his arrest. He spent the weekend in jail after being released from the hospital.

Hill is facing three counts of battery on a police officer and one count of resisting arrest. His bail was set at $75,000, and he was ordered to attend four Narcotics Anonymous meetings per week or seek other outpatient treatment.

Lil Nas X deleted all of his Instagram posts last week, replacing them with a slew of photos and videos from a disheveled apartment. One of his final posts before his arrest showed Nas X performing a song about wanting “to live” in a bathrobe and cowboy boots. In the video shared by TMZ, Hill can be heard humming the same melody.

By Alex Galbraith

Alex Galbraith is Salon's nights and weekends editor, and author of our free daily newsletter, Crash Course. He is based in New Orleans.


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