Rapper Polo G has been arrested on charges including battery on a police officer, resisting arrest with violence and criminal mischief. Jail records show the rapper, whose name is Taurus Bartlett, was booked into jail early Saturday on five charges and released on bond hours later. The Miami Police Department released arrest affidavits in which officers stated Bartlett, 22, and others were pulled over early Saturday, and the rapper ended up in a struggle on the ground with officers. One of the documents says an officer who was trying to handcuff Bartlett was struck multiple times. The documents say Bartlett was aggressive as he resisted arrest in downtown Miami. One of the officers said he had ordered him and all the passengers in the car he was traveling in to get out of the vehicle to pat them down for firearms, saying he suspected they carried weapons because they heard a passenger claim the vehicle was bulletproof. The Police Department said it was reviewing the incident that would include examining all camera footage, saying the arrest was captured on several body-worn cameras. Police spokesman Michael Vega said it also was investigating several threats received against personnel and facilities in response to the rapper’s arrest. The Chicago-based artist had just released his newest album “Hall of Fame” on Friday. His single “Rapstar” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April.
Billionaire businessman and investor Richard Branson marked the opening Thursday of the new Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, promoting weekend events that kicked off with a show headlined by Christina Aguilera. Branson, the English entrepreneur and founder of the Virgin brand, sprayed champagne at Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak and other notables gathered to mark what organizers dubbed the “Unstoppable Weekend,” Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. The property and its centerpiece Mohegan Sun casino opened March 25 after more than a year of renovations of the 1,500-room former Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Branson thanked the governor, a Democrat, for deeming the remodeling an essential construction business and letting it continue during the pandemic-spurred shutdown ordered in March 2020. “We would not be open for another 18 months unless you had the initiative of allowing us to keep on going, so thank you for that,” he said. Branson said he decided against trying one of his trademark stunts during this visit to Las Vegas. He rode a jet ski across the fountain pool at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in 2010 to promote his airline and he cut his hand and tore his suit pants as he skidded on a zip line down the side of the Palms Casino Resort tower in October 2007.