Amid the parties and artsy mayhem of Art Basel, piled atop the typical night scene of Miami, police arrested comedian Hannibal Buress early Sunday morning, though it was not entirely clear to him why. Now, thanks to a video shot by a bystander, Twitter is also up in arms about the incident. By the afternoon, #FreeHannibal was a hashtag as filled with outrage as it was silly, Buress-like jokes.
According to the Miami Herald, police arrested Buress at 1:57 a.m., charged him with misdemeanor disorderly conduct, and released him on bail by 6 a.m. In the video, however, when a cuffed Buress repeatedly asks, "Explain what I'm detained for," the officers' initial reply is, "Trespassing."
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"You know y'all goofy as fuck," he says.
The video does not show what led up to this moment, but Buress does not appear to think he had done anything wrong and tries to refuse to get into the police car. This is enough evidence to acquit him in the fans' eyes.
" 'Trespassing' is just cop=speak for 'existing in public while black' #freehannibal #notthecannibalone," @Kuntsuragi wrote.
"trespassing" is just cop=speak for "existing in public while black" #freehannibal #notthecannibalone https://t.co/WfnnyviaCX
— Not Nicole™ ??? (@kuntsuragi) December 10, 2017
"How dare you arrest the man who brings nothing but joy, peace, and tranquility to every home in America," asked @madmann14.
Fellow comedian Eric Andre, whose Adult Swim show also stars Buress, tweeted his support as well.
#freehannibal !!!!
— Eric Andre (@ericandre) December 10, 2017
Many seemed to see the humor in the situation.
" 'You know y’all goofy as f*ck, right?' is my motto for the rest of 2018 #FreeHannibal," wrote @bigCcomedy.
Several fans shared a screenshot of Buress as a shady lawyer in The Eric Andre Show.
#FreeHannibal pic.twitter.com/PcFmTRqGLo
— Ernesto Solano (@EsolanoUIC) December 10, 2017
At least one Twitter user decided to poke fun at the poor quality of the bystander's video, because everyone's a comedian.
ATTENTION: If you witness police brutality against one of the most inspiring comedians to walk this Earth, please record it with PORTRAIT mode not LANDSCAPE. Unfortunately, this portrait mode video that I have screenshotted was all I can find.d #freehannibal pic.twitter.com/Suviqgc5KU
— kawan (@Kuvstar) December 10, 2017
Refinery29 have reached out to Buress's representatives for comment.
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