Morgan Wallen was arrested in Nashville after allegedly throwing a chair off the roof of Eric Church’s new bar and honky-tonk.
In a statement shared on social media, the Nashville Metro Police Department said the 30-year-old country star was booked on three felony counts of reckless endangerment and one disorderly conduct misdemeanor. He was later released on a $15,250 bond, according to local CBS affiliate News Channel 5.
Wallen’s attorney, Worrick Robinson, tells Rolling Stone, “At 10:53 p.m. Sunday evening Wallen was arrested in downtown Nashville for reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct. He is cooperating fully with authorities.”
According to an arrest report, the chair Wallen chucked off the sixth-story roof of Chief’s, Church’s new bar, landed on the street right next to a group of Nashville cops. When staff at the bar were asked about the incident, they pointed the finger at Wallen. Authorities were reportedly also able to view video of Wallen “lunging and throwing an object over the roof.”
Wallen is set to appear in court next on May 3, which just so happens to line up with his pair of concerts at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium on May 2 and 3. This is Wallen’s second incident at a Nashville honky-tonk: in May 2020 he was arrested for public intoxication and disorderly conduct at Kid Rock’s bar.
The chair-throwing incident notably occurred on opening weekend for Chief’s, the latest artist-owned honky-tonk to open on Nashville’s popular Lower Broadway stretch. Church is celebrating the opening by playing a 19-show residency at the venue’s 350-seat theater; the first show took place last Friday, April 5.
Church and Wallen have grown close over the years: Just last November they performed together at the CMA Awards, and in January they partnered to purchase outdoors magazine and brand Field & Stream. Church has stuck by Wallen through previous scandals as well, remaining a kind of mentor and offering both support and constructive criticism. In a 2021 interview with Rolling Stone, Church addressed the infamous video in which Wallen was caught using a racial slur.
“It was a heartbreaking deal,” he said. “Heartbreaking is the best thing I can say. Morgan’s got to work on Morgan now and where that goes. I think that’s something I hope he does, and anticipate he’ll do. I think that as a format, though, we just have to continue to strive to be better, and I think it can end up being a really healthy thing. As we have these conversations, it’s a good thing for all of us.”