SB LIX Dancer Arrested After Flag Protest: Details and Reactions

Super Bowl LIX Performer Arrested for Flag Protest

Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, who participated in Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show at Super Bowl LIX, was arrested on Thursday by the Louisiana State Police. The arrest occurred after Nantambu displayed a Sudanese flag with the message “Free Sudan and Gaza.” Nantambu, 41 years old and a resident of New Orleans, surrendered to authorities after an arrest warrant was issued. He was booked at the Orleans Parish Justice Center on charges of resisting an officer and disturbing the peace by interrupting a lawful assembly. According to state police, officers began investigating shortly after the February 9 game at the Caesars Superdome. They determined that Nantambu “deviated from his assigned role” and disrupted the halftime show by running onto the field with the flag. Security personnel and law enforcement officers pursued him, and he refused to obey their orders to stop, according to a statement from the state police issued Thursday. In coordination with the National Football League, agents learned that Nantambu was permitted to be on the field during the performance, but was not permitted to demonstrate as he did.

Neither the jail records nor the online court records show a lawyer for Nantambu who could be contacted for comment. The arrest comes after New Orleans police said shortly after the game at the Caesars Superdome that the cast member would not face charges. However, it was the Louisiana State Police who announced the charges on Thursday. New Orleans police initially responded to the disturbance, but the Louisiana State Police took over the investigation, in part because of the artist’s access to a high-security area, according to Sgt. Katharine Stegall of the Louisiana State Police, in an email to The Associated Press. The NFL said Thursday that it commends the Louisiana State Police for “their diligence and professionalism.”

We take any attempt to disrupt any part of an NFL game, including the halftime show, very seriously, and we are pleased that this individual is being held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. In addition to the ongoing criminal case, the NFL has banned the individual from attending any NFL game or event.

NFL

The cast member was among dozens of dancers wearing black suits. He held the flag in the air while standing on the roof of a car that was a main feature of the hip-hop artist’s performance. He then jumped off the stage and ran across the field before being taken down by several men in suits. In a separate case, Nantambu is listed as a victim of a shooting on May 17 outside a celebrity boxing event in Miami. Former NFL player Antonio Brown is facing an attempted murder charge after authorities said he grabbed a handgun from a security worker at the boxing event and fired two shots at Nantambu.