Super Bowl halftime performer who raised Sudanese-Palestinian flag arrested months later
Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, a 41-year-old artist in New Orleans, reportedly faces charges of resisting an officer and disturbing the peace by interruption of a lawful assembly.
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The incident in question saw Nantambu, part of a 400-person cast, hold up the flag while standing on a car during Kendrick Lamar's performance, then jump off the stage and run across the field before getting tackled by security. The flag was not directly shown on the Fox broadcast, with most footage coming via video from people in the stadium.
Nantambu reportedly snuck the flag in without the knowledge of the show's organizers and later said he made the protest to "highlight the human sufferring" in Sudan and Gaza. Millions of people have been displaced since civil war broke out in Sudan in April 2023, while tens of thousands of people have been killed by Israeli military strikes in Gaza since October 2023.
The NFL responded by banning Nantambu for life from all league stadiums and events. Brian McCarthy, vice president of communications for the NFL praised the police's decision to charge him on Thursday, via NOLA.com:
"We commend the Louisiana State Police for its diligence and professionalism in this matter. We take any attempt to disrupt any part of an NFL game, including the halftime show, very seriously and are pleased this individual will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law," McCarthy said.
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Curiously, New Orleans police initially said they wouldn't file charges against Nantambu. However, Louisiana State police, a different agency, reportedly began an investigation in collaboration with the NFL and found that Nantambu allegedly "deviated from his assigned role" and "disrupted" the halftime show.
Nantambu has made bizarre news since his protest, as he claimed to TMZ last month that he was the person former NFL star Antonio Brown was attempting to shoot following a fist fight at a boxing match. Brown has since been charged with attempted murder.
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