Lil Nas X Faces Court Over Alleged Assault on Police Officer

US rapper Lil Nas X, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill, has pleaded not guilty to charges of assaulting a police officer in downtown Los Angeles. The incident occurred early Thursday morning when police responded to reports of a naked man, leading to Hill being hospitalized and subsequently arrested. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office has charged him with three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one count of resisting an executive officer. He is currently held on a $75,000 bail, with the condition that he attends drug treatment. Hill is scheduled to return to court for his next pre-trial hearing on 15 September. According to law enforcement sources, Hill allegedly punched an officer twice during the encounter, and authorities were uncertain if he was under the influence of substances or experiencing mental distress. TMZ footage shared by NBC News shows Hill walking on Ventura Boulevard wearing only white briefs and cowboy boots, engaging with bystanders and performing playful gestures such as placing a traffic cone on his head. During Monday’s hearing, Hill’s lawyer emphasized his otherwise exemplary life and described the incident as an unusual deviation from his character.