For some reason, I thought Offset and Cardi were staying in Atlanta currently? But I guess I was wrong. Over the weekend, Offset was in Beverly Hills, and he drove through a rally of Donald Trump supporters. He was in the car with Cardi’s 20-year-old cousin, Marcelo Almanzar. And some sh-t went down with the Beverly Hills cops. Marcelo was arrested, and Offset was briefly held and released.
Offset was detained and released by Beverly Hills Police Saturday night after driving through a rally in support of President Donald Trump, according to police.
In a statement, BHPD confirmed the arrest of a 20-year-old man named Marcelo Almanzar on two charges of carrying a concealed weapon and carrying a loaded firearm in public. The bail for Almanzar — who shares a last name with Offset’s wife Cardi B and is her cousin, according to TMZ — was set for $35,000.
“There have been media reports that entertainer Offset was arrested,” the statement read. “Those reports are inaccurate.”
According to the police department, a passerby saw that Almanzar “pointed a weapon from a vehicle at him.” However, they did not press charges.
Offset, born Kiari Kendrell Cephus, was detained while recording the altercation with law enforcement on Instagram Live. The video — shared widely on social media — shows Offset arguing with several police officers and being pulled out of his car after he refused to exit his vehicle when asked by police.
“Artist and Philanthropist Offset was detained by the Beverly Hills Police Department following an attack by aggressive Trump supporters,” a rep for Offset said in a statement to PEOPLE. “He was released shortly thereafter. Offset thanks his fans for their support and wishes everyone peace and safety during these trying times. He encourages everyone to get out and vote because nothing changes if nothing changes.”
Yeah, this story got picked up all over the place because Offset was filming himself and his interactions with the police on Instagram Live. Offset is maintaining that Trump supporters were beating up the car and using their flags to try to break the windows, maybe? I guess to the BHPD’s credit, they actually don’t seem to be violently escalating the situation, although they truly swarmed the Black guy’s car and didn’t seem to do sh-t to the Trump supporters. The woman cop even seems to be trying to reason with Offset verbally, and she doesn’t have her gun out. So… did any of those Trump supporters get arrested? Probably not. I wonder how many of them were carrying concealed.
Offset went on IG live during a dispute with police. It’s still unknown as to what took place after he was removed from the car. We’ll update in a tweet as the story progresses.
👀 @OffsetYRN pic.twitter.com/ajliD89Crm— WORLDSTARHIPHOP (@WORLDSTAR) October 25, 2020
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
This dude was waving a gun at people. Are we going to act surprised the police swarmed their car?
Uh, I seem to remember that Rittenhouse kid walking around with a semi automatic at a BLM protest AFTER he just killed a protester and the cops drive right by his ass. And if a bunch of deranged Magats were beating on my car, I would pull out my gun too.
Yes I completely agree @Jungle – he shouldn’t be surprised. If he wants to “wave his gun around” then he needs to follow the RULES, like being a white trump supporter 🙄🙄🙄
So frustrating how many white people still can’t see how one-sided the “rules” are.
And why were these racists allowed to swarm his car? How many of them had concealed weapons? BS BS BS
The part about the cousin being arrested and charged for carrying a concealed and loaded weapon definitely stood out to me. So the “militia” of white dudes carrying semiautomatic weapons and storming the capital building of Michigan was apparently their constitutional right and A-okay; or the ones who are reportedly showing up at polling places (with encouragement from Trump) is also no big deal, but the POC pulling a weapon in most likely fear of their safety? Totally a criminal and *must* be arrested. The double standard is not obvious at all.
I’m sure the NRA will be tripping all over themselves to come to the defense of this black man’s 2nd Amendment rights.
*crickets*
Offset was 100% right to keep his hands on the dash. If they were white guys, they could wave their guns around while wearing a Confederate flag t-shirt and the cops would have given them high fives and offered them refreshments. Fuuuuck the police.
+1
Meanwhile, I’ve seen five white men brandishing or muzzling protestors this year with no police response whatsoever. 😡
ACAB.
Mixed feelings. Glad Offset and his cousin are okay. Nobody, from either side, should be waving guns around, but it’s true that in open-carry states (and elsewhere) they get away with it. What about that crazy white couple who appeared at trump’s convention after pointing guns at peaceful protesters passing by? It is a double standard, for sure, especially with police cozying up to “militia” (Wisconsin again). And yes, Offset did right to keep his hands on the dash. Kudos to the cops for not killing him. Where else in the world is a cop congratulated for not killing a black man?
I said brandishing, not open carry.
People are pointing their handguns at protesters. This has nothing to do with open carry, and is not happening on private residential property.
I’m glad everyone was alright after that altercation.
There was another one involving a famous guy and Trump supporters yesterday as well.
Arizona Cardinal wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins got into it with Trump supporters in a truck parade on a Phoenix freeway and was filmed giving them all the finger.
Not a football fan and I can probably only name about 5 NFL players total (maybe not even?) but that story makes me want to buy a DeAndre Hopkins jersey TODAY.
Athyrmose, You raise an excellent point. I have no idea what “open carry” actually is. I imagined it included “brandishing” your guns at people (pointing guns). So what is it? A gun in a holster that is visible on your person? If you take it out of your holster and point it at someone, you can be arrested for “brandishing?” Also, I would feel threatened just seeing someone with a gun on them, whether they held it or not. And couldn’t “open carry” be construed as making a threat, for instance, if you’re on a line to vote? Thanks.
open carry = gun is secured in a holster, visible on your person. Depending on the state, all of the gun must be visible to qualify as open carry.
brandishing = gun in your hand. Or, technically, ‘displaying a weapon with the intent of placing another person in fear of imminent physical injury or death.’ Arrestable offense, either a felony or misdemeanor, depending on the state, often the cop’s discretion, and (let’s be real) the gun-owner’s skin color.
Some states require a gun owner to have a special license to carry concealed, but no license for open carry. Some states don’t allow open carry at all. Proponents of open carry argue that someone with a concealed weapon ‘clearly has something to hide,’ whereas someone who openly has a gun on them is just…a law abiding private citizen exercising their 2nd amendment rights, I guess. ‘Murica.
I agree that just seeing someone with a gun in a public space like a restaurant, even if they’re not brandishing it, makes me feel uncomfortable. Never seen or heard of open carry at a polling station, which could mean it doesn’t happen (frankly unlikely) or it does but only in places where everyone and their toddler has a gun and the lawns are a sea of MAGA signs, so no one is likely to complain.
Thanks much, Mel. So there’s a slender space between lawful carrying in open carry states and unlawful brandishing. Just one quick draw of your hand and you can menace and even kill someone. And what about rifles and shotguns? Is there a way to holster them on your body? This is far too much risk and imbalance of power. Notice that no guns are allowed in the buildings of Congress for just these very reasons. It’s their rule to protect themselves(no second amendment rights quandary), yet their constituents are walking targets. Sucks.
How about Americans of all political persuasions just stop buying guns in large quantities and CARRYING THEM IN PUBLIC. How about GUN CONTROL, Christ, is it any wonder the rest of the world despises America.