Flash mob prompts Machine Gun Kelly arrest

STRONGSVILLE, Ohio — Authorities say rapper Machine Gun Kelly organized a flash mob at a suburban Cleveland mall and was charged with disorderly conduct.

Strongsville police say the group gathered Saturday, and mall management asked three people standing on a table near a second-floor railing to step down. Kelly was among the three. When they refused, police were called.

Police say they're no longer in custody. Kelly tweeted later that "today was a statement."

Sean "P. Diddy" Combs told MTV this month that he signed Kelly, an Ohio native, to his Bad Boy Records label.

"Machine Gun" was the nickname of George Kelly, a Prohibition-era gangster in the 1920s and 30s.

The Plain Dealer reports that Cleveland's mayor recently vetoed an ordinance that would have criminalized some uses of social media and was aimed at curbing flash mobs.

[rusirius45]

I guess I never realized how much the kids today are total sheep. Show up here. Baaa! Do this. Baaa! Watch that. Baaa!
Have some pride and take control of your own lives. You're embarrassing your entire generation.

And yes, this was a staged publicity stunt. CBS gave Kelly more free publicity that he'll most likely never see again.

[Dgunner]

When ordinances are put in place to prevent harmless flash mobs then the american freedom of speech is smothered out of fear that the local government has or could lose control of thier little tax paying mouses. This is slap in the face to all americans. The authorities out of fear of either being exposed for what or who they really are press thier citizens to shut the f===k up and get back in line like a good little citizen . I yearn for the days when the common people will rise against a oppressive government and take what is being held from them which is mostly the back room lies and deals this country is being supported upon.Tic Tock goes the clock.

[-LiftingSkirts-]

anarchy now! woo hOO! i wanna go to an English soccer game...

[curious2knownow]

Hey, CBS, this isn't news!! This is a filmed publicity stunt. Why are you covering it? If you didn't, these jerks wouldn't even bother. CBS is pandering to these guys.

[train99]

Well, if you're white it's hard to make it in the rapper business.
And I can just imagine him getting attacked by a mob of black teenagers and shouting, " Hey, I'm Machine Gun Kelly! I'm with you guys!", before his head hits the pavement.

[-LiftingSkirts-]

WOw... I'm surprised that this video clip is unedited. That's the most f-bombs I've ever heard on CBSnews.

Well Mr. Kelly sounds like a good business man. Kid's got passion. About what I have no clue, but he's passionate...

[Harden_Tar]

Good career move. Never heard of him before today.

[bobbyboobee]

Someone ought to machine gun Kelly.

[BillsCatz]

Dude is lucky those girls didn't yank him out of that car and rip him to shreds. Ain't nothing nice about a mob of hormone-fueled teenage girls...

[rwsmith29456]

They are exercising their rights of free assembly and speech by being punky idiots.