What to Know
- Rapper Cardi B has been named in a 12-count indictment in connection with an August fight at a strip club in Queens, court records say
- Surveillance video shows her picking up an ice bucket and throwing it at two women working at the club during the wild melee, a source said
- Earlier this year, a judge issued an order of protection against Cardi B and told her to have no contact whatsoever with the two sisters
Cardi B pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Tuesday after being indicted on 12 counts, including two felonies, in connection with a fight at a New York City strip club last summer where she allegedly attacked two bartending sisters, according to public court records.
Speaking to NBC4 at Queens Supreme Court, the rapper's attorney says there's no doubt she'll have a positive outcome and be found not guilty. Court documents say Cardi B, Tawana Jackson-Morel and Jeffrey Bush coordinated via social media the date, time and location of the assault on Rachel and Sarah Wattley.
The Wattley sisters allegedly had glass bottles and alcoholic drinks thrown at them, and one of their heads was slammed into the bar, Acting District Attorney John M. Ryan said.
"This kind of violence won’t be tolerated in our community. The defendants will be held accountable for their alleged actions," Ryan said in a statement.
Prosecutors alleged that Cardi B and Jackson-Morel discussed payment for the assault which Bush had videotaped. Jackson-Morel and Bush also pleaded not guilty.
Online court records associated with Cardi B's case indicate the "Bodak Yellow" star was charged with two counts of felony attempted assault with intent to cause serious injury. All the other charges, which range from harassment to criminal solicitation, conspiracy and reckless endangerment, are misdemeanors.
The rap star allegedly orchestrated the attack on the sisters in retaliation against one whom she believed had slept with her then-husband Offset, sources have said.
Local
If convicted, all three face up to four years in prison.
The new charges came down just about two months after the "Bodak Yellow" singer declined a plea deal to an A misdemeanor — one that essentially would have gotten her off scot-free if she stayed out of trouble — in connection with the August 2018 fight in Queens.
At a concert in Los Angeles shortly after the indictment news, Cardi B chanted "I'm not going to jail" on stage, saying she had a daughter. Her lawyer couldn't immediately be reached for comment on the indictment, but in a previous hearing, attorney Jeff Kern had said his client had no criminal record and he was "aware of no evidence that she caused anybody any harm."
Surveillance video shows her picking up an ice bucket and throwing it at the two sisters who were bartending, sources have told News 4.
In a previous hearing, a judge had ordered Cardi B to have no contact whatsoever with the two sisters and issued an order of protection for them. He also warned Cardi B to "please be very careful" with social media.
When he asked if all that was clear, the rapper nodded.
Born Belcalis Almanzar, and a former stripper herself, Cardi B was at the club in College Point because Offset was performing with his hip-hop trio Migos, according to police. She and her entourage got into an argument around 3 a.m. Aug. 29 with the two sisters, according to a source directly connected to the two alleged victims, and total chaos allegedly broke out.
Cardi B apparently suspected one of the sisters was having an affair with Offset and had confronted the women, ages 21 and 23, in Atlanta on June 29, the sources said. The rapper announced in December she and Offset had split up, though they have since reconciled.