Warrant out for Wiley's arrest after he misses his court hearing

A warrant has been issued for Wiley to be arrested after he failed to make his court hearing in east London on Monday.

Richard Kylea Cowie Jr, better known by his stage name Wiley, was due to appear in court in relation to allegations of assault and burglary.

In August, the rapper was accused of allegedly breaking into a flat in Forest Gate, East London. He reportedly smashed 28 plates and assaulted kickboxer Ali Jacko.

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The rapper had been using Ali Jacko’s recording studio before the pandemic. It’s unclear whether the alleged attack and burglary were planned or intended malicious.

At the time of the alleged incident, Ali Jacko was reportedly spending time with his friends.

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Until now Wiley has been on conditional bail and was due to appear at Thames Magistrates’ Court in east London on Monday.

District judge Ross Johnson issued a “warrant not back for bail” order. This means that he can be arrested and brought into court.

The hearing on Monday was due to take place after he was granted an adjournment. This would have allowed him more time to apply for legal aid and speak to his lawyers.

Read this next: Police are investigating Wiley for making anti-semetic posts on social media

In 2018, Wiley was awarded an MBE for his legacy in British Grime music. Less than a year later, the rapper was banned from Twitter for a series of anti-Semitic posts.

In an interview with Sky News shortly after the accusations, Wiley shouts about his MBE: “take it back! I've never had that in my possession except for a picture outside Buckingham Palace."

He claims that he had never seen the award and that it is framed at his manager's house.

In the same interview, the rapper said: “If I read what anti-Semitism is and it says the Jewish community is powerful in business, that's racist? I think that's silly. I don't care what nobody says. I wanna apologise for generalising, number one, and I want to apologise for comments that were looked at as anti-Semitic”.

[Via Evening Standard]

Aneesa Ahmed is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter