(Ken Silva, Headline USA) From NWA to Rick Ross and beyond, rap music has a long history of songs about committing violence against law enforcement, the U.S. President and other government officials—so much so that Vice published an article about the subject in 2017.
But now, apparently President Joe Biden is off limits.
Arkansas rapper Reese Alexander Sullivan, 20, was arrested on Nov. 7 for making terroristic threats in his songs.
According to a heavily redacted affidavit from the case, the FBI first received a tip about him in August. The tip included links to Sullivan’s rap songs, which included lyrics about shooting up a school, bombing a public event and killing numerous people.
“Threats … included racial statements about specific groups of people and killing them, bombing churches associated with a specific race, killing kids, raping children, bringing his gun to school and killing people of a specific ethnic group, shooting up his school because he was bullied, details of a plan about committing a school shooting, killing his grandmother, bombing a specific public event, killing the President and bombing the Senate,” the affidavit stated.
But when the FBI executed a search warrant on Sullivan’s home in October, agents found no weapons or explosives.
Sullivan told law enforcement that his violent lyrics were made under his “character or persona” used in the rap songs.
“He stated his rap songs are meant to be funny and he does not believe the statements he makes in his songs. Sullivan said he does not hate the groups identified in the songs, he has not sexually abused children, he has no intent of committing a shooting at his school, a bombing, or killing the president, and he does not possess any firearms, explosives, or components,” the affidavit stated.
“Sullivan provided historical information about his family and school, and there were no disclosures of abuse or trauma.”
The heavily redacted affidavit blacks out Sullivan’s rap name, and Headline USA could not find his music online.
Sullivan is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 11 in Benton County, Arkansas.
Law enforcement has reportedly ordered him to refrain from using social media or make internet posts of a written, audio, or video nature.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
