Rapper Silento Arrested After Entering Random Family’s Home With Hatchet, Looking for Girlfriend

Rapper Silento, real name Richard Lamar Hawk, is charged with two felonies after allegedly entering two strangers’ home and attempting to attack them with a hatchet. According to InTouch Weekly, the rapper was arrested after attempting “to strike the two people in the home with a hatchet.” The two victims were able to disarm the rapper before authorities placed him under arrest.

The 22-year-old rapper, made famous by the 2015 viral hit “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” allegedly entered the home on Aug. 29, looking for his girlfriend. One of the residents of the house he entered had a firearm, stopping him from attacking and giving time for people at the home to tackle the rapper. According to ABC7, the homeowners and their children were present at the time, with one screaming for help during the altercation.

According to TMZ, a friend of Silento arrived and told the rapper that he was in the wrong house. Both fled before police arrived but Silento was later arrested a block away from the home. He was charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

According to InTouch, Silento was released on bail for another different arrest in Santa Ana, California. The new felony counts have bail set at $105,000 and if convicted, Silento could face six years in prison.

The initial arrest is related to this situation following an incident with his girlfriend. Silento was arrested on Friday, August 28 on charges of “inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant” stemming from an alleged altercation with his girlfriend.

The rapper’s career was jumpstarted at 17 after the release of “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” after it went viral. A video for the song was released and has reached 1.7 billion views since it dropped. According to XXL, the song held to the Billboard chart for 53 weeks and sparked a viral movement over the titular dance moves. Silento spoke with Billboard in 2019 about his career and how going viral was part of the plan.

“I knew what I wanted [the song] to be, so I made sure I accomplished what I needed to before I graduated,”the rapper told the outlet (via InTouch). “I stuck to the plan, and I made my dreams come true.”

Silento is set to be arraigned on Friday and is reported to still be in custody on the charges. There is no report on if the rapper will post bail.