“Troopers learned that Nantambu had permission to be on the field during the performance, but did not have permission to demonstrate as he did,” read the statement
Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, the Kendrick Lamar dancer who held up the flags of Sudan and Palestine during the Super Bowl Halftime Show, has been arrested.
On Thursday, Louisiana State Police announced officers had arrested the 41-year-old performer for allegedly “resisting an officer” and “disturbing the peace by interruption of a lawful assembly” by calling for peace in the two countries.
A statement from Sergeant Kate Stegall described how Nantambu was identified “through investigative means,” and an arrest warrant was ordered for him. The performer surrendered himself with his attorney and was booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center.
“In coordination with the National Football League, Troopers learned that Nantambu had permission to be on the field during the performance, but did not have permission to demonstrate as he did,” read the statement from the Louisiana cops, which described Nantambu’s non-violent protest as “deviat[ing] from his assigned role.”
The arrest comes after the New Orleans Police Department initially stated it was not originally going to press criminal charges for the protest.
According to the NFL, the performer seen in a viral video captured from an attendee in the stands “hid the item on his person and unveiled it late in the show.” There were 400 dancers and crew members present on the field, but the flag-bearer stood out when he waved the banner from on top of the gutted GNX car stationed on one of the rapper’s four stages before running across the field.
“No one involved with the production was aware of the individual’s intent,” said NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy, per Associated Press. Roc Nation, which produced the show, corroborated this report in their own statement, noting the protest “was neither planned nor part of the production and was never in any rehearsal.”
