MOS DEF - MOS DEF ARRESTED AFTER VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS

Rapper/actor MOS DEF was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct last night (31AUG06) after he put on an unauthorised show outside New York City's Radio City Music Hall following the MTV Video Music Awards. According to the New York Police Department (NYPD), Mos Def - real name DANTE SMITH - pulled up outside the prestigious venue at 10pm (local time) in a flat-bed truck and began to perform through a sound system, quickly attracting a large crowd. The BLACK ON BOTH SIDES star reportedly performed KATRINA CLAP, a savage attack on US President GEORGE W BUSH's administration's slow response to Hurricane Katrina last year (05), before NYPD officers told him and his entourage to pull the plug and began making arrests. Officers who had arrived earlier on the scene had allowed Smith to continue after finding he was in possession of a public performance permit. Smith's publicist insists her client was handled harshly and revealed plans to release a video of the incident on the web. CARLEEN DONOVAN tells MTV, "Mos Def was unjustly arrested tonight while performing on a flatbed track in New York City outside the Video Music Awards. "Mos Def was not out to break any laws. His only goal was to heighten the awareness of a serious situation that still exists in our country. "He does not want people to forget that although it's one year later, the people and cities hit by the hurricane still need the help of the American people." Smith was released from police custody in the early hours of this morning (01SEP06).