Rapper Fetty Wap jailed for FaceTime threat, gun possession

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (CN) — Facing federal drug charges, rapper Fetty Wap is back behind bars after allegedly threatening over FaceTime to kill an unnamed victim and brandishing a gun, violating his release agreement. 

The 31-year-old performer, whose full name is Willie Junior Maxwell II, was arrested Monday morning in Newark, New Jersey. He appeared hours later in the Eastern District of New York’s Long Island courthouse where a judge agreed to the government’s bid to revoke a $500,000 bond package. 

While video chatting, Maxwell called a man kept anonymous in court filings a “rat” and pointed a gun at him, according to federal agents, who say they received a recording of the December 2021 interaction. 

“During this video, the defendant is shown holding a gun and pointing it towards John Doe,” reads an FBI agent’s affidavit. “The defendant then says to John Doe ‘Imma kill you and everybody you with,’ which he then repeats one more time. The defendant then continues to threaten John Doe, saying ‘I’m gonna kill you,” a threat which he repeats several more times throughout the video call.” 

Possessing a gun and using it to threaten someone violate state law, and the bond deal that allowed the “Trap Queen” artist to stay out of jail pending trial. 

Maxwell pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking conspiracy and weapon charges made public after his October 2021 arrest at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets. He had been scheduled to perform at the Rolling Loud music festival, but was taken into custody before he could take the stage. 

Anthony Cyntje, a former New Jersey correction officer, is among five co-defendants charged with distributing more than more than 100 kilograms, or 220 pounds, of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and crack cocaine in Long Island and New Jersey. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. 

To carry out the multimillion-dollar scheme, prosecutors say the group bought the narcotics on the West Coast and moved them to New York using the U.S. Postal Service and vehicles with hidden compartments.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven Locke nixed the bond deal signed by U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert. 

Maxwell’s attorneys did not immediately return requests for comment. 

At the time of Maxwell’s arrest, agents said the alleged scheme contributed to the opioid epidemic and pointed to the status of the rapper, whose tracks “679,” featuring Remy Boyz, and “My Way,” remixed by Drake, were each top 10 hits in the United States. 

“The fact that we arrested a chart-topping rap artist and a corrections officer as part of the conspiracy illustrates just how vile the drug trade has become,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll stated in an October 2021 press release. 

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