NLE Choppa is using his platform to speak out against police violence in the U.S.
On Wednesday (April 21), NLE Choppa penned a tweet to his more than 968,800 Twitter followers describing his feelings on police brutality. In the 267-character message, the 2020 XXL Freshman likened the killings of U.S. citizens by police officers to "premeditated murder."
"At this point these police officers doing premeditated murders. These ain’t coincidences, this shit getting planned before it even happens just to keep us vibrating low and wanting justice that we not getting. Only a matter of time before these marches turn into war war 💯," he tweeted.
The Memphis-bred rapper's comments come after the trial of Derek Chauvin, a White former Minneapolis, Minn. police officer, who murdered George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, in May of 2020, earlier this week. Chauvin was found guilty of all charges on Tuesday (April 20). A group of 12 jurors found Chauvin guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Many members of the hip-hop community showed up and showed out on social media, celebrating Chauvin's conviction. However, the victory was short-lived. Shortly before the former cop was convicted, Ma’Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old Black girl based in Columbus, Ohio, was shot and killed by a White police officer named Nicholas Reardon, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
The shooting of Ma'Khai Bryant is currently making headlines. Video footage shows the moment that Ma'Khai Bryant was killed on April 20 at around 4:45 p.m., moments before Chauvin's verdict in George Floyd's murder was announced. The Columbus Dispatch reports that police allegedly showed up at Bryant's foster care residence following a call to 911. The call to police came in at 4:32 p.m. The unidentified caller asked police to come and said someone was trying to stab them as screaming could be heard. The call was disconnected before the police dispatcher tried to get more information on what was occurring. Bryant was reportedly in an altercation with other girls.
Bryant was holding a knife when police officer Reardon arrived on the scene. In video of the incident, Bryant makes a movement toward another young woman, and that woman falls down. Bryant then made a move toward another young woman. Reardon said "Get down" and then fired his gun at Bryant, who was shot and killed. Four shots were heard.
Ma'Khia Bryant's aunt, Hazel Bryant, later told Daily Beast that her niece was defending herself against several adult women who came to the foster home to start an altercation with Ma'Khia Bryant. Hazel Bryant said her niece grabbed a knife to defend herself.
“The police are going to lie. I’m so thankful that someone from the family was actually on the scene,” Hazel Bryant said. “The police are going to lie. The police are going to cover up for themselves. They don’t care. At this point, I feel like they’re just out to kill Black people. They’re not here to protect and serve. That isn’t happening. That’s been over a long time ago. They’re not here to protect and serve. They’re here to kill Black folks."
In addition to NLE Choppa speaking about his feelings on police this week, he had his own run-in with cops last month. On March 28, NLE Choppa was arrested in Davie, Fla. for charges of Burglary Unoccupied Structure Unarmed, Carrying a Concealed Firearm, Possession of Cannabis 20 Grams Less/Synth Cann 3 GMs Less and Possession of Alprazolam (Xanax).
The rapper admitted to police that he jumped over a gate into a tow yard to retrieve a watch from a vehicle that was towed from a separate incident. However, the vehicle was not in the tow lot. Cops found a Glock 27 and AK-47 Draco pistol in vehicle Choppa and two other men were found in at the scene of the crime. Seven grams of marijuana and three-and-a-half Xanax pills were also found in a backpack in the vehicle. Choppa admitted the bag belonged to him.
NLE Choppa has since been released from jail.
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