Bruce Springsteen's DWI Charges Dropped After He Pleads Guilty

In early February, it was reported that Bruce Springsteen was arrested and cited with DWI, reckless driving, and consuming alcohol in a closed area back in November. On Wednesday, CNN reported that the DWI charges against Springsteen were dropped. Although, he did plead guilty to charges that he consumed alcohol at New Jersey's Sandy Hook National Recreation Area, even though he knew that the action was prohibited.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose a problem for the country, Springsteen made a virtual appearance before New Jersey Federal Court in order to address the charges against him. During his appearance, he admitted, "I had two small shots of tequila." Federal prosecutors had agreed to drop the DWI and reckless driving charges against Springsteen if he pled guilty to consuming alcohol in a prohibited area. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Baker said that the government would not be able to prove those aforementioned charges against the musician.

"The evidence we reviewed indicates that after the defendant's arrest, he submitted to a breath test at the ranger station, and his BAC reading was .02, which as the court is aware is well under the legal limit of .08," Baker stated. After pleading guilty to consuming alcohol in Sandy Hook National Recreation Area, Judge Anthony Mautone sentenced Springsteen to pay a $500 fine and $40 in court fees. The judge served out this sentence against the singer while noting that the prohibition on consuming alcoholic drinks at the park was two years old. He also cited that Springsteen had an otherwise clean criminal record aside from this infraction.

"I have in front of me the driver's abstract of this defendant, going all the way back to 1973," Mautone said. "There's three violations in the whole abstract. In fact, two of them aren't even violations and the third one is use of a hand-held cell device. Rarely would you see a driver's abstract so devoid of any entries as I see before me, Mr. Springsteen." The "Born in the U.S.A." singer was originally arrested on Nov. 14, 2020 and was subsequently charged with DWI, reckless driving, and consuming alcohol in a closed area. A source said that Springsteen took a shot of alcohol with fans after taking a photo with them. The insider continued to explain that the singer is known for taking photos with his fans, adding, "That's typical Bruce."