Travis Scott has so far faced a lot of legal action following the fatal crowd crush at his Astroworld festival in 2021: In early 2022, over 300 lawsuits were combined into a single case. Now, though, it appears the rapper could be facing criminal charges.
Reuters reports that today (June 29), a grand jury in Houston is meeting about bringing criminal charges against Scott. Kent Schaffer, Scott’s lawyer, confirmed the news and noted it was unclear if the jury’s decision would arrive today. Schaffer attested, though, “Nothing Travis did or failed to do fits within the Texas criminal code.”
As Reuters notes, “Prosecutors will present evidence to grand jurors and ask them whether there is probable cause to support criminal charges. The proceeding does not necessarily mean any charges will be filed.”
The impact of the crowd crush was wide-ranging: A court filing from last year revealed that there were nearly 5,000 claims of injuries stemming from the incident. Overall, the crowd crush resulted in 10 documented deaths. One woman trapped in the crowd crush also claimed it caused her to have a miscarriage.
Meanwhile, Scott has been busy teasing the release of his upcoming album, Utopia. It’s not yet clear when the project is set to be unveiled, but it looks like something might be coming on July 21.