Michigan State University

April 5, 1993 Tupar Shakur was arrested in Lansing’s Capital City Airport at 7:15 a.m. Monday for his involvement in an assault at the Auditorium on Sunday night during a talent contest. Tupac allegedly swung a bat at Chauncey Wynn, a member of the rap group M.A.D., after an argument over a microphone. Shakur is known by the stage name of 2Pac.

He was charged with one count of felonious assault, which carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison and a $2,000 fine. He was arraigned Monday in East Lansing’s 54-B District Court and posted 10 percent of his $50,000 bond. Police said Shakur had borrowed two microphones, each worth about $600, from Wynn to perform.

Halfway through Shakur’s third song, sound operators shut off the microphones because he was allegedly using obscene language. Shakur became angry and threw one of the microphones on the floor, police said. Wynn went up on stage, picked up the microphone, handed it back to Shakur and asked him not to break the microphones, Wynn said.

Shakur allegedly swung a baseball bat at Wynn’s head after the exchange. Police said the bat was being used as a prop on stage. James Davis, who was in the eighth row, said Shakur then jumped off the stage into the audience. “It was pandemonium,” the MSU electrical engineering freshman said. “After that, they shut down the concert.”

Ingham County Prosecutor Don Martin said several witnesses who were interviewed after the incident told police they thought Shakur had had too much to drink. Davis also said that Shakur told the audience that he was intoxicated. Chief Judge David Jordan, who arraigned Shakur Monday, said the bond was set high to ensure the performer’s return for the preliminary exam.