Morgan Wallen may have gotten himself into real trouble, currently facing three felony charges and a possible six years of jail time after an alleged incident at Eric Church’s bar, Chief’s, in Nashville.
In case you missed it: earlier this week, Wallen was arrested after allegedly throwing a chair from the sixth floor of the Chief’s building, which hit the floor just three feet from where Metro Police officers were standing (per Billboard).
The Cowgirls singer was hit with three class E felony charges of reckless endangerment and a misdemeanour charge of disorderly conduct.
Following his arrest, Wallen’s attorney issued a statement to the media: “At 10:53 pm Sunday evening, Morgan Wallen was arrested in downtown Nashville for reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct. He is cooperating fully with authorities.”
Since news of his arrest broke, a video of it has surfaced on TikTok, showing Wallen fully cooperating with the police. He posted the $15,250 bond to secure his release from custody that night.
Wallen will face court on Friday, 3 May, just a day after headlined two nights at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium.
According to Nashville-based criminal attorney and legal expert David Raybin, the singer could technically face up to six years in jail—each felony charge could carry one or two years of jail time, plus probation—but Raybin believes the possibility of Wallen serving all charges consecutively is “very remote”.
Raybin, who’s not involved in Wallen’s case, told PEOPLE, “I seriously doubt how he would get consecutive time. [Wallen’s] is a serious offence — I don’t want to minimise it, but still, he probably would not be eligible for consecutive sentences. It’s probably a maximum of two years, assuming he was not put on probation.”
However, because the alleged incident involved police officers who “could have been killed”, Raybin stated that Wallen might face a “harsher sanction”.
Raybin added, “The question is going to be because he’s a celebrity, should he be treated differently, either too lightly or too harshly?
“The prosecutor tries to steer a middle course in these cases. You don’t want to just say, ‘Well, we’ll give you a $10 fine.’ And on the other hand, you don’t want to say, ‘Well, because police officers, country music guy, we’re going to toss you in prison for two years.’”
It is not Wallen’s first time in trouble with the law, with his last arrest in 2020 after disorderly, intoxicated conduct at Kid Rock’s Honky Tonk also landed him in hot water. The latest alleged incident happened at Eric Church’s new bar, Chiefs, which celebrated its grand opening just days earlier.
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