21 Savage Charged With Gun & Drug Possession From 2019 ICE Arrest

Source: Scott Legato / Getty

21 Savage became a global case for ICE reform when he was arrested in Atlanta in 2019 ahead of the Super Bowl. Now the rapper is facing gun and drugs charges connected to the original arrest.

According to TMZ, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office is levying two new charges against the rapper, possession of s schedule II controlled substance, and possession of a gun. Savage turned himself into authorities on Thursday (September 23) and bonded out immediately. According to his lawyer Charles Kuck, the charges are state-related and not federal.

“Last night’s manufactured charges are yet another example of how our justice system, from ICE down to the local level, unjustly targets young Black men who seek to exercise their rights. There is no legitimate basis for these charges nor for ICE’s continued antics, and we will fight until Mr. Joseph is justly vindicated.”

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The rapper was arrested in February 2019 and placed in ICE custody after it was revealed he wasn’t a United States citizen, his Visa had expired and he was in the country illegally. The rapper is still fighting ICE’s attempt to deport him and authorities allege the rapper threw a bottle of liquid containing codeine out of his car and a handgun was discovered during a search.

Following his arrest, individuals such as JAY-Z came to his defense as social media began a #Free21 campaign in his name. The rapper was eventually released from ICE custody after nine days.

Kuck released a statement in 2019 saying that 21 applied for a U-Visa in 2017 and had a 2014 federal drug conviction expunged from his record. A U-Visa is available to those who are the victim of a crime.

“The Department of Homeland Security has known his address and his history since his filing for the U Vista in 2017, yet they took no action against him until this past weekend,” Kuck said. He added, “As a minor, his family overstayed their work visas, and he, like almost two million other children, was left without legal status through no fault of his own. This is a civil law violation, and the continued detention of Mr. Abraham-Joseph serves no other purpose than to unnecessarily punish him and try to intimidate him into giving up his right to fight to remain in the United States.”

He’s due in immigration court in November over the charges.

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