#Lil Wayne Facing Federal Weapons Charge

Lil Wayne is facing a new federal weapon charge, as TMZ reports and Pitchfork can confirm via court documents. The rapper has been charged with one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The charge stems from a December 2019 incident in which a private plane transporting Wayne from California to Florida was searched by federal agents at Miami-Opa locka Executive Airport. The charge has been brought about by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

According to the Miami Herald, Miami-Dade Police alerted federal authorities of the plane after receiving a tip that weapons and marijuana were potentially be transported by the aircraft. The search was reportedly conducted with investigators from the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and other agencies.

When reached by Pitchfork, Lil Wayne’s attorney Howard Srebnick shared the following statement:

[Lil Wayne] is charged with possessing a gold-plated handgun in his luggage on a private plane. There is no allegation that he ever fired it, brandished it, used it or threatened to use it. There is no allegation that he is a dangerous person. The charge is that because he was convicted of a felony in the past, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm.

Although the Supreme Court has not yet decided the constitutional question, Justice Amy Coney Barrett recently wrote an appellate dissenting opinion in which she stated that “Absent evidence that he either belongs to a dangerous category or bears individual markers of risk, permanently disqualifying [a convicted felon] from possessing a gun violates the Second Amendment.”