Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, 41, was found guilty Monday in New Orleans after Louisiana State Police said he disrupted Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance by running across the field with a Sudanese protest flag that read “Sudan and Free Gaza.”
According to the state police, Nantambu was authorized to be on the field as part of the halftime production, with dozens of dancers wearing black outfits as part of the Feb. 9, 2025, show at Caesars Superdome. Police said Nantambu deviated from his assigned role when he held up the flag while standing on the roof of a car used as a prop in the show.
The agency said Nantambu then jumped off the stage and began running. Police said security and law enforcement personnel ran after him and that he refused to comply with their commands to stop. State police said Nantambu surrendered to authorities after an arrest warrant was obtained.
Nantambu was booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center on charges of resisting an officer and disturbing the peace by interruption of a lawful assembly. Chief Judge Juana Marine-Lombard found him guilty of the resisting an officer charge only, and the charge was described as a misdemeanor.
An attorney for Nantambu, Emily Posner, did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment, according to the report. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said her office appreciated the judge’s decision to hold Nantambu accountable for resisting law enforcement officers who work to protect communities.
Marine-Lombard scheduled sentencing for June 1. Under state law described in the report, Nantambu could face a fine of up to $500 and up to 6 months in prison. The report also said Nantambu received a lifetime ban from all NFL events.
The court case also intersected with a separate matter involving Nantambu, who is listed as the victim of a shooting outside a celebrity boxing event in Miami in May 2025. Authorities said former NFL player Antonio Brown grabbed a handgun from a security worker and fired two shots at Nantambu, and that Nantambu told investigators one of the bullets grazed his neck.
The report said Brown has said he was defending himself and that a trial date for him was set for January 2027.