Rapper Silento charged with assault after allegedly attacking two strangers with a hatchet

‘Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)’ performer will appear in court later today

Silento in 2016 (Getty Images)

Rapper Silento has been charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

The 22-year-old musician, who is best known for viral hit “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)”, was arrested and charged after allegedly entering a stranger’s home carrying a hatchet, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced on Thursday (3 September).

Last Friday (28 August), the rapper was arrested and released on bail after reports of a domestic disturbance at a Santa Ana property.

The next day, Silento, real name Richard Lamar Hawk, allegedly walked into a stranger’s unlocked home in LA’s Valley Village brandishing a hatchet.

When inside, he reportedly tried to hit two people with the weapon before one of them disarmed him. The residents and their children were said to be home, but nobody was injured.

A spokesperson for the Orange Country Sheriff’s Department told People Silento was charged with “inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant in a domestic violence incident” during the first incident.

For the second, he faces two felony accounts of assault with a deadly weapon.

Silento is currently in custody and will attend a court hearing later today. If found guilty, he could face up to six years in jail.

Anyone who requires help or support in relation to the topics mentioned in this article can contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline which is open 24/7 365 days per year on 0808 2000 247 or via their website: https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/