T.I. arrested at Atlanta airport due to mistaken identity
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T.I. was just trying to live his life when a case of mistaken identity led him to tangle with the law.
The 43-year-old rapper, born Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr., was arrested on Sunday, August 4, at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta after law enforcement confused him with another man also named Clifford Harris, The Post can confirm.
The other Clifford Harris had an arrest warrant out in Baltimore, Maryland, according to a report from this publication. The outlet added that the man is wanted for charges of alleged violent behavior toward a woman, stalking, and a possible gun-related incident.
After being placed in cuffs at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, T.I. was transported to Clayton County Jail in Atlanta.
An extradition hearing was automatically triggered because the warrant came from out of state.
But before the extradition process could progress further, T.I.’s attorney allegedly intervened. According to this publication, T.I.’s lawyer, Steve Sadow, quickly made a phone call to someone at the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office and had the rapper released from custody within two hours of his arrest.
The judge who was assigned the case at the extradition hearing reviewed T.I.’s case and promptly dismissed the extradition order.
Part of what may have helped officials realize they had the wrong Clifford Harris could have come down to physical description and attributes. The Clifford Harris wanted in Maryland reportedly weighs 205 pounds while T.I. reportedly weighs 165 pounds, per this publication.
The Post has reached out to T.I.’s lawyer for additional comment.
T.I. is inexorably linked with Atlanta. Born and raised in the Georgia capital, he is credited as being one of the pioneers of trap music along with other Georgia-based artists such as Jeezy and Gucci Mane.
The rapper owns a restaurant in the city, The Trap City Cafe, which opened in 2022. On Sunday, the same day he was mistakenly arrested, he posted a video on his Instagram promoting the restaurant and inviting people to visit the eatery for Sunday Funday’s brunch and dinner. It’s unclear whether T.I. was at the cafe that day.
T.I. also had a run-in with the law in 2021 when he was arrested in Amsterdam after his bike collided with a police vehicle. The “Live Your Life” hitmaker posted an Instagram video at the time, explaining that he was in police custody only for 25 minutes.
Prior to that incident, T.I. was arrested in 2018 and charged with misdemeanor simple assault, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness after a security guard refused to grant him entry to his gated community.