Police arrest Super Bowl halftime dancer who brandished protest flag
Grammy award winning rapper Kendrick Lamar headlines the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday, Feb, 9, 2025. On Thursday, police said they arrested a backup dancer who had brandished a protest flag during the performance. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
June 27 (UPI) -- Authorities in Louisiana have arrested and charged a 41-year-old man on accusations of creating a disturbance during the Super Bowl halftime show by holding up a protest flag.
The suspect, Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu of New Orleans, surrendered himself through coordination with his attorney on Thursday and was booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center on charges of resisting an officer and disturbing the peace of a lawful assembly.
An average of 133.5 million people tuned in Feb. 9, to watch rapper Kendrick Lamar perform during the Super Bowl halftime show at Caesars Superdome, making it reportedly the most watched halftime performance in its history.
During the performance, one of the dozens of backup dancers was seen standing on a prop car on stage brandishing a Sudanese flag emblazoned with the words "Sudan and Free Gaza."
Video of the incident posted online shows that when confronted during the performance, seemingly by security, the suspect fled onto the field, where he was eventually tackled to the ground and apprehended
Louisiana State Police said in a statement Thursday that its investigation confirmed that the performer had "deviated from his assigned role" by brandishing the flag and "disrupted the halftime show by running across the field."
Law enforcement identified the performer as Nantambu and confirmed he had been hired to perform during the show.
"Troopers learned that Nantambu had permission to be on the field during the performance, but did not have permission to demonstrate as he did," it said.
He was arrested under a warrant obtained through the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
29 minutes ago
- UPI
NYC incumbent Mayor Eric Adams launches re-election bid
1 of 9 | New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks at his re-election campaign launch event on the steps of City Hall in New York City on Thursday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo June 26 (UPI) -- New York City Mayor Eric Adams kick-started his re-election bid as an independent candidate on Thursday. Adams was joined by about 100 supporters on the steps of the New York City Hall as he announced his candidacy and laid out a case for another four years as the city's mayor. "It's a choice between a candidate with a blue collar and one with a silver spoon," Adams said of his background versus that of Democratic Party candidate and self-avowed socialist Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani, 33, surprised many in the political establishment by winning Tuesday's Democratic Party primary over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who conceded the loss and announced he would continue running as an independent. Adams, likewise, was elected to the mayoral office as a Democrat in 2021 but since has left the party to become an independent. "This is a city not of socialism," Adams told supporters on Thursday. "There's no dignity in someone giving you everything for free," he said. "There's dignity in giving you a job, so you can provide for your family and the opportunities that you deserve." Adams said New York is "not a city of handouts" but instead helps people improve themselves and their lives. Adams has challenged the prior Biden administration's immigration policies and supports the Trump administration's efforts to oppose illegal immigration. The Biden administration filed federal charges accusing Adams of bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy, which the Trump administration dropped earlier this year. Adams said the charges against him were politically motivated due to his opposition to the Biden administration's immigration and border policies. "Despite our pleas, when the federal government did nothing as its broken immigration policies overloaded our shelter system with no relief, I put the people of New York before party and politics," Adams told media after he was indicted on Sept. 27. "I always knew that if I stood my ground for all of you, that I would be a target," he said. "And a target I became." Mamdani has proposed government control of grocery stores, free public transportation, free childcare, freezing rents and eliminating tuition at city universities, among other proposals. Mamdani is a New York state representative who was born and raised in Uganda in 1991 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018. He has a bachelor's in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College and, if elected, said he would use his power as mayor to "reject Donald Trump's fascism, to stop [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents from deporting our neighbors and to govern our city as a model for the Democratic Party." His mother, Mira Nair, is an Indian-American filmmaker who is known best for "Mississippi Masala." Mamdani's father, Mahmood Mamdani, is a Ugandan and former professor of colonialism in India, African history and political violence at Columbia University and other institutions. He is the director of the Makerere Institute of Social Research in Uganda.
Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Miami's Olympia theater holds lifetime of memories for this reporter. And probably you
Imagine being a fan who helped lure a superstar singer to perform her first and only major concert in your own hometown. That fan was me, in my role as pop music critic at the Miami Herald. That star was Carly Simon. And a big part of the draw was the allure of Miami's elegant Gusman Center, also known as the Olympia theater. Simon, now 82, is a music legend who wrote and recorded one of pop culture's most famous songs — so enduring that Taylor Swift cited the 1972 hit, 'You're So Vain,' as 'the best song that has ever been written.' That's coming from Swift, who built a legion of fans on chronicling breakups. The Oscar- and Grammy-winning composer became a star attraction in the 1970s but stage fright largely kept her off the road for most of her career. It was May 2007 when I made my call. A key to my pitch was that Florida International University's theater department was staging her family opera, 'Romulus Hunt.' The event was conceived by then FIU head theater director Phillip Church to support a not-for-profit that helped children in foster care. Getting Simon to put on a show the night before her opera would be a huge boost for the benefit. I can still remember part of my conversation with Simon 18 years ago touting the Olympia. '...Oh, and the venue is beautiful. It's historic. You'll like it and it's not too big and overwhelming like an arena.' The following year, the theater added Simon's rare live concert to its long list of memorable moments. Olympia's fate? Now Miami's talking about giving away the Gusman? The clouds in my coffee are forming twisters. Do our memories go along with that deal? Mine are priceless. Bet yours are, too. As the Herald has reported, Miami officials are considering turning over control of the historic Olympia Theater on Flagler Street in downtown Miami to a Little Havana charter school. MORE: In murky deal, Miami may give storied 1926 Olympia theater to Pitbull's charter school The Olympia is also known as the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts from the mid-1970s to 2014, in honor of philanthropist Maurice Gusman who donated the property to the city in 1975. Whatever its name, the theater has such a storied history. Olympia's history The Olympia opened on Flagler Street as a silent movie palace in 1926 as one of the original Publix Theatre movie palaces. Yep, Publix before the Publix you go to for Pub Subs and BOGOs. Publix founder George Jenkins liked the sound of the name 'Publix' so he took it when the Florida-based movie chain folded at the time of the Great Depression. Jenkins needed a name for his first store in Winter Haven, Florida, in 1930, and 'Publix' sounded right, according to his 1979 memoir. MORE: How did Publix supermarket get its name? It's a Florida story made for the movies From Elvis to Buffett The Olympia/Gusman hosted the Miami Film Festival in the 1990s and 2000s as its premier venue. Elvis Presley performed in concert there in 1956. So did B.B. King, Etta James, The Marx Brothers and Gypsy Rose Lee. Italian operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti and Canadian rocker Bryan Adams played the venue too. Jimmy Buffett played a three-night gig at the Maurice Gusman Cultural Center on Aug. 14-16, 1978. These shows were taped and formed much of the material featured on his 1978 two-disc live album, 'You Had to Be There.' The rest of the set's live material was recorded days earlier from Atlanta's Fabulous Fox concert venue. Gosh, I wish I had been there at his Gusman concerts when I was 15. On the Gusman stage, Buffett 'Floridized his songs and commentary, with references to stolen sunglasses from Eckerd's, beer at Captain Dick's in the Grove. Pelican Pete's in Key Largo, Stuckey's with its pecan rolls and 'free alligators for the kids,'' future Herald theater critic Christine Dolen wrote in her review of opening night. Buffett premiered new material from the Gusman, too. One of those songs, 'Morris' Nightmare,' made it onto 'You Had to Be There.' It was a song about a cruise-ship couple, alias 'condo commandos and snowbirds,' Buffett quipped at the Gusman. Can you imagine that track originating anywhere else but Miami? That live album was a perennial on boomboxes at swim meets with my fellow Hurricanes teammates, I told Buffett in December 2021. We were chatting on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the launch of his career from Key West. One of many conversations. I miss Jimmy. He was his endearing stage persona Miami fans who were there at the Gusman saw so many years ago. MORE: 'The longevity of mischief.' Jimmy Buffett looks at 50 years after his first Key West gig The Police and Cash Around that time in 1978, The Police were a fledgling late-'70s New Wave rock act led by Sting when they graced the Gusman. I hadn't started going to rock concerts just yet. But I got to walk around the backstage catacombs at the Gusman with Police drummer Stewart Copeland about 16 or so years later in 1994 when he was checking out the venue at a soundcheck. He performed with a group of African percussionists on its stage to promote his post-Police project, The Rhythmatist. 'I've been always interested in music from around the world,' Copeland told the Herald at the time. Johnny Cash played the Gusman in 1995 when he was enjoying a musical and commercial renaissance that sustained him for the rest of his life. 'This hasn't been my best night, but I loved being with you,' Cash apologized to his audience toward the show's end. Puzzled, I shook his hand backstage moments after and continued a chat we'd had in an interview pre-show. The Man in Black was a perfectionist. He was all smiles afterward. So much for the brooding reputation. The man's charisma wattage was tuned so high in person the City of Miami probably saved a few bucks on its electric bill for running the theater's stage lights that night. Carly Simon's Miami debut Carly Simon, however, is my most cherished Gusman memory. A career highlight. FIU's Church wanted to stage Simon's 'Romulus Hunt' after seeing a production in North Carolina. Simon's family opera tells the story of a 12-year-old New York boy who is shuttled between divorced parents who plots to bring his incompatible parents back together. Simon wrote the parents as 'exaggerated' versions of herself and ex-husband, musician James Taylor, she said. The former couple share two children. 'I've seen a lot of divorces, unfortunately, and so many kids are left confused [or] in a state of denial,' Simon said. 'The fights can be worse. The children can feel grabbed at and totally in the middle.' Church knew I'd had connections to Simon. I'd written about her often for the Herald. Flew out to see her in rare one-off concerts in Columbus, Ohio, and New York's famous Apollo for a Christmas show. He wondered if I'd reach out and gauge Simon's interest in taking part in some way with his production. I'd admired Church's work at FIU when I was a grad student just before joining the Herald in 1991. A concert and opera, both to benefit CHARLEE, the not-for-profit that supported foster children in Miami, was what Church had in mind. Simon's participation would sell that concept and fill the Gusman. 'I seem to find less and less pleasure in doing theater for theater's sake. These days, I feel I have to be compelled by a social need,' Church told me then. He's retired from FIU but still staging stories for his local community theater group What if Works. He was a fan of Simon. So was the late Marilyn March, who died in 2020 from pancreatic cancer. She was development director for CHARLEE, the foster care organization that stood to benefit from Simon's 'Romulus Hunt' and her concert the night before. 'Many of our children are the product of broken homes, and the divorce rate today is staggering,' March told me. 'We all grew up with Carly Simon's music and we knew how much of her personal life's journey is reflected in her lyrics.' Could I possibly convince the stage-shy Simon to say yes by simply vouching for these people? Simon sang an array of her hits from the Gusman stage. 'You're So Vain,' of course. 'Let the River Run' and 'Anticipation.' She sang a song about her and Taylor's daughter Sally from her then new album. Their son Ben Taylor played guitar and sang harmonies with his famous mom at the Gusman. Simon sang her son's song, 'Island.' 'If I can recommend a life experience, have Carly Simon play one of your songs on stage,' Taylor told the Miami audience. 'These songs have different meanings because we're old now,'' Simon, then 64, teased as she introduced her familial 'Coming Around Again.' I'm so vain. I apparently convinced Carly. A memory as precious as the Olympia.
UPI
an hour ago
- UPI
Movie review: 'Clueless' re-release proves film retro but timeless
1 of 5 | Alicia Silverstone stars in "Clueless," returning to theaters Sunday. Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures LOS ANGELES, June 27 (UPI) -- Clueless is returning to theaters Sunday for its 30th anniversary, but it's never really left the culture at large. While there have been many teen comedies since, the film's lingo and fashion remain evergreen and some of the details prove surprisingly prescient. Alicia Silverstone stars as Cher Horowitz, a teenager attending Beverly Hills' fictional Bronson Alcott High School, wearing designer fashion and carrying a cell phone. Cher plays matchmaker for her teachers, and new student Tai (Brittany Murphy), similar to Jane Austen's heroine Emma. In the '90s, words like "whatever" and "as if" were common, following the Bill & Ted and Wayne's World popularization of "no way" and "yeah, right." Clueless made "I'm Audi" synonymous with "I'm out of here" (as in Audi/outtie), with an emphatic "Audi 5000." Those terms may have been usurped by TikTok lingo like "delulu" and "cheugy" but the sentiments haven't changed. Delulu means delusional and "as if" is essentially telling someone they are delusional, "as if" they think that's going to happen. The plaid skirts and knee-high socks were sort of retro at the time of the film's release, but they'd still work now. The music includes a '90s cover of "Kids in America," the satirical "Supermodel," and No Doubt's first hit single, "Just a Girl." Coolio's "Rollin' with my Homies" is pivotal to Tai's heartbreak, just before his "Gangster's Paradise" led the film Dangerous Minds and Mighty Mighty Bosstones appear in the film. Back then, cell phones were only for rich kids, and they were only for talking, not for staring at and scrolling for hours. The brief seconds Cher and Dionne (Stacey Dash) continue their conversation on their phones in the hall before putting them away was a joke. Cher would probably be aghast everyone has a phone now and that they type instead of talking to each other. She was all about making connections and hanging out in person at parties and the mall. The aspects of Clueless that proved most timeless were probably the least expected. Cher debates Haitian refugees in debate class, and later collects donations for victims of a natural disaster at Pismo Beach. In 1995, these probably seemed like generic events that could serve the plot. Cher had to get a middling grade in debate class that she could negotiate to an A, and demonstrate she was learning to think about others. Today, false claims about Haitian immigrants were real talking points of the 2024 presidential campaign. Regardless of their country of origin, immigration has been a major political platform and source of division. Cher's pro-immigration conclusion, "It does not say RSVP on the Statue of Liberty," is humorously simplistic. Yet her welcoming position would be adopted now by pro-immigration proponents. She was also very accepting when she learns her classmate Christian (Justin Walker) is gay. Coming out in the '90s was a plot point of many TV sitcoms and movies, and Christian wasn't necessarily out when Cher found out. She accepted him, so tolerance wasn't even an issue. Natural disasters have sadly only ramped up since 1995, from Hurricane Katrina to the recent Los Angeles wildfires. Fortunately, those situations have shown people to be supportive of their fellow humans in need. People aren't flocking back to theaters to see Clueless again for its politics, however. The film is still selling tickets because it's funny, charming and makes people feel good. One need not be as wealthy as Cher to enjoy her carefree lifestyle. In fact, Tai is not rich and she proves to enjoy life even more fully without the trappings Cher provides. People with stepsiblings have objected to Cher's romance with ex-stepbrother Josh (Paul Rudd) since 1995, saying even if they are not blood related and their parents have since divorced, they could never see a stepsibling romantically. That may be, but upon reflection it seems well-supported by the movie. Cher's father Mel (Dan Hedaya) says, "You divorce wives, not children." This is a wonderfully inclusive way to show he has no ill will towards his ex-wife's son, and that Josh can always have a place in the Horowitz family. Does that wipe away the stepbrother-ness? Maybe not, but Mel also seems to see there was always a connection between Cher and Josh, which probably existed before the marriage, when he encourages Josh to check on Cher at the party. To revisit Clueless is to enjoy a time capsule of '90s culture. And yet, much of the classic teen comedy proves prescient and evergreen. Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
