NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country music star Morgan Wallen faced legal repercussions on Thursday, pleading guilty to two misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment. This charge stemmed from an incident in which he threw a chair off the rooftop of a six-story bar in Nashville, narrowly missing two police officers below.
During the court appearance, Wallen was accompanied by his attorney and was sentenced to seven days at a DUI education center, along with two years of supervised probation. When asked for his plea by Judge Cynthia Chappell, Wallen responded with “conditionally guilty.”
As detailed in the arrest affidavit, the incident occurred on April 7 at Chief’s bar, where witnesses claimed to have seen Wallen throw the chair and laugh afterward. The chair landed alarmingly close—about one yard (or meter)—from the officers who were present and subsequently reviewed security footage as part of their investigation.
Following the event, Wallen released a statement expressing that he accepted “responsibility” for his actions, although it did not include a direct apology. Instead, he noted his intent to make “amends” and to reconnect with law enforcement.
Initially, Wallen was facing more serious charges, including three felony counts of reckless endangerment and a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct. His attorney, Worrick Robinson, stated that Wallen has been fully cooperative with authorities over the past eight months, directly communicating and apologizing to those affected by his actions.
Robinson also mentioned that upon successful completion of Wallen’s probation, the charges could be eligible for dismissal and expungement, indicating the possibility of moving forward without a permanent record.
After the brief 10-minute hearing, Wallen did not make any public statements and was quickly led away by security personnel. Despite this incident, he remains a prominent figure in country music, having recently been named the Country Music Association Awards’ entertainer of the year last month.
This legal trouble follows previous controversies for Wallen, including a suspension from his record label in 2021 after footage emerged of him using a racial slur. In 2020, he was arrested for public intoxication and disorderly conduct after being ejected from Kid Rock’s bar in downtown Nashville.
