Brooklyn Rapper 6ix9ine Arrested On Racketeering Charges

The rapper known as Tekashi 6ix9ine was in federal custody Monday awaiting a Manhattan court appearance on racketeering charges alleging that he participated in the July shooting of a bystander in Brooklyn and the gunpoint robbery of his gang's rivals last spring.

The Brooklyn-based rapper, whose legal name is Daniel Hernandez, was among four people arrested on racketeering and firearms charges, authorities said.

The authorities also arrested three of Hernandez's former associates, Kifano "Shotti" Jordan, Jensel "Ish" Butler and Faheem "Crippy" Walter.

Hernandez was reportedly arrested in relation to his alleged gang activity, the New York Daily News reports. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Manhattan U.S. Attorney also told the outlet that the arrests were the culmination of a shared effort between the New York Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and the ATF.

An attorney who has previously represented Hernandez did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment Monday; it was unclear whether the other three men that were arrested had defense attorneys.

Last week, Hernandez announced the cancellation of all his upcoming U.S. tour dates, and also revealed that he fired “everybody” that handles his management, including Jordan, according to a clip he uploaded to Instagram last week.

The rapper has been one of the most ascendant and controversial names in hip-hop in recent months. His album Day69: Graduation Day was among the top records on iTunes following its February release.

He is also known for the multiplatinum hit "Fefe" with Nicki Minaj, which peaked at No. 3 on the pop charts, and "Stoopid," featuring the incarcerated rapper Bobby Shmurda.

But Hernandez also has had a series of run-ins with law enforcement and has publicly identified himself as a member of a violent New York gang, 9 Trey Bloods.

In a superseding indictment unsealed Monday in Manhattan federal court, Hernandez was charged in connection with what prosecutors described as "Nine Trey Gangasta Bloods," which they said carried out acts of murder, robbery and narcotics trafficking in Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn since at least 2013.

The indictment said each gang member was required to carry out at least two acts of racketeering conspiracy. Those acts could include murder, robbery, extortion and drug distribution, the court papers said.

In April, according to the indictment, Hernandez and others participated in a gunpoint robbery of the gang's rivals.

Then in mid-July, the court papers said, the rapper joined three others and agreed to shoot an individual who had shown disrespect to gang members. However, an innocent bystander was shot on a Brooklyn street corner as a result of the agreement, the indictment said.

Just this year, the 22-year-old was arrested in January for allegedly choking out a teenage fan at Houston’s Galleria Mall, and he pleaded guilty last week to disorderly conduct in Brooklyn Criminal Court in connection with a May traffic stop.

Further, Walter and Zachary Bunce, another member of the rapper’s entourage were taken into custody in connection to a shooting that occurred at a Manhattan restaurant last month. The pair was charged with gang assault for allegedly attacking a private security guard that denied them entry into Philippe Chow, prompting the guard to take out a gun and shoot Walter twice. Shotti was arrested later and charged over his alleged role in the fracas, according to the New York Daily News.

Hernandez himself was reportedly not present during the shooting, but had been at the restaurant prior to the violent altercation, presumably in celebration of avoiding a prison sentence earlier that day in relation to a child sex case, NBC New York reports.

In connection to that case, which stemmed from a 2015 incident in New York, Hernandez was sentenced to probation for his involvement in a sexually explicit video of a 13-year-old girl.

The video, posted on social media, showed the girl performing a sex act on another man while Hernandez "stands behind the child making a thrusting motion with his pelvis and smacking her on her buttocks," according to court documents.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Photo Credit: Getty Images]