MDC Brooklyn, the only federal jail in New York City, has drawn sustained judicial criticism for poor conditions and persistent violence. Hernandez’s arrival adds another prominent name to a facility whose current roster includes a detained head of state and a defendant in one of the most closely followed criminal cases in the country.
Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine reported to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on Tuesday to begin a three-month federal sentence, arriving by luxury van alongside internet personality Adin Ross and a camera crew that streamed his self-surrender live.
The 29-year-old artist, whose legal name is Daniel Hernandez, joins Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Luigi Mangione at a facility that some federal judges have refused to use and others have described as “hell on earth” for its poor conditions and constant violence, the Associated Press reported.
MDC Brooklyn — the only federal jail in New York City — currently holds Maduro, who faces U.S. drug charges, along with Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores. Mangione, who is accused of fatally shooting United Healthcare chief executive Brian Thompson, is also detained there.
Hernandez’s lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. They have previously said the rapper looked forward to completing his sentence so he could resume his music career, the AP reported.
The violations
Hernandez admitted last year to assaulting a man and possessing drugs, in violation of the terms of his supervised release in a gang-related case. A federal judge sentenced him in December to three months in federal custody.
Prosecutors said the violations stem from small amounts of cocaine and ecstasy found at his Miami home during a police raid. Hernandez also punched a man who taunted him at a Florida mall over his past cooperation against gang members, prosecutors said.
It was not his first breach of supervised release. He received a 45-day sentence in 2024 after similarly running afoul of its terms.
Background
Hernandez rose to national attention with the 2017 release of his song “Gummo.” The following year, he pleaded guilty to involvement with the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, a violent New York-based gang. A federal judge sentenced him in 2019 to two years in prison plus five years of supervised release, in exchange for his cooperation against other gang members in a racketeering case.
He was released early from federal prison in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A notorious roster
MDC Brooklyn has housed a number of high-profile defendants over the years. R. Kelly, Sean “Diddy” Combs, and Ghislaine Maxwell — a longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein — each passed through the facility.