A week after his arrest for allegedly inciting a riot during his daytime South by Southwest performance on 13th March, Tyler, the Creator has released a statement through his attorney calling the word “riot” an “unfortunate and inaccurate description of what occurred.”
Perry Q. Minton said in the statement released Thursday morning to the Associated Press that the events that occurred at the Scoot Inn in Austin, Texas, leading to Tyler’s arrest do not constitute a riot. “At no time during the…concert did Tyler seek to incite or participate in riotous activity as has been reported in the press,” Minton wrote.
“It is clear from video clips and witness reports that the patrons and fans attending the show on that date were full of positive energy appropriate for this type of event and never exhibited any anger or aggression whatsoever,” it continued.
The rapper was arrested last Saturday, two days after his show at Austin’s Scoot Inn, where police allege the 23-year-old Odd Future leader encouraged fans to push their way past employees and barge through the entrance of the at-capacity venue.
Police also released video of fans running through a gate while Tyler yelled, “Just run in right now…Fuckin’ do it.” Minton argued that authorities have misrepresented what happened. “For law enforcement or the media to describe the rush of fans through the gate and the subsequent benign, boisterous activity as a riot is an unfortunate and inaccurate description of what occurred,” he wrote.
“Tyler is not a violent individual,” added Minton. ” And would never deliberately engage in any activity that would put another person at risk of being hurt.” The act of inciting a riot carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine. The bond was set at $25,000.
Christian Clancy, Tyler, the Creator’s manager, also weighed in on his Tumblr about the incident. “Tyler had a punk rock moment at the converse/thrasher show at SXSW,” he admitted. “However the energy and intent of that show was not anger or aggression.”
“I understand how easy it is to paint Tyler as a bad guy.. I honestly do.. but as someone who has spent a whole lot of time around him i can only say dig deeper,” he continued. “I’m not here to defend every move Tyler makes, but I will stand by him and defend his character because I know him.”
Clancy also reflects briefly about last week’s fatal car crash at SXSW where an alleged drunk driver drove into a barricade outside a venue of a Tyler gig, killing three people and injuring dozens more.
“Tyler was not at the venue and received the info of what happened like everyone did.. in shock..,” wrote Clancy. “We all quietly had our own individual way of dealing with the heaviness of it all. That’s not something you process quickly.”
