Twenty-nine-year-old rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine was released from the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center and marked his freedom by showing off his “prison” SpongeBob SquarePants doll.
What is special about the toy? The artist boasts that he convinced jailed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to sign while they were both being held in a federal facility in New York.
A video posted on Tekashi’s Instagram page shows him holding a stack of papers in one hand and a Nickelodeon toy in the other as he emerged a free man after his latest stint behind bars.
“Look, Maduro signed it,” he said, excitedly showing his friends the signature. “Maduro, the second of April, Venezuela forever.”
Tekashi, born Daniel Hernandez, was sent to the Metropolitan Detention Center in January after violating the terms of his probation by assaulting an individual and keeping MDMA and cocaine in his room. He was originally sent to jingle in 2019 for his involvement in the violent gang Nine Trey Gangsta Blood – but was cut early due to COVID.
His lawyer and the prison authority confirmed he was released before dawn on Friday morning.
Along with the Nickelodeon toy, a 400-carat, multi-million dollar chain that weighs more than four pounds flashed around his neck. Tekashi claimed on Instagram that the necklace was worth more than $2 million.
“Fresh OUT THE FEDS $2,200,000 on my neck. GOD IS THE GREATEST. MY LORD AND SAVIOR,” he said, adding, “MADURO SIGNED MY PRISON HOUSE SPONGE9INE.”
The federal prison has held federal inmates over the years, including alleged CEO shooter Luigi Mangione, Diddy, R. Kelly and Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as Maduro and his wife.
The pair are accused of directing kidnappings, muggings and killings targeting individuals who either owed money for drugs or were considered a threat to their business network. According to the indictment, this allegedly included the murder of a drug dealer in Caracas. If convicted, they face life in prison.
The pair were incarcerated in the Brooklyn Detention Center and neither applied for bail.
