By Armita Rohani
Matt Shultz, leader and founder of Cage The Elephant and a beloved American rockstar and songwriter, has been arrested at a Manhattan hotel for possessing assault weapons. Cage The Elephant is an alternative rock band from Bowling Green, Kentucky. Matt Shultz has created several of their hit albums, including Melophobia, Tell Me I’m Pretty, Social Cues and Unpeeled. They have won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album twice, and have 12 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Cage The Elephant has released back-to-back hits, including “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked,” “Come A Little Closer,” and “Trouble”.
It is with great surprise that fans learn of his arrest. Police responded to a 911 call after an employee at Bowery Hotel saw him in possession of a gun in his pocket. Officers found Shultz intoxicated with two loaded, unlicensed firearms, eleven Polaroid photos of the guns, and six handwritten notes, one of which said, “I will defend myself if I am attacked,” according to the prosecutor’s office. He was taken to Lower Manhattan’s 9th precinct station following his arrest. Shultz now faces several counts of weapons possession charges, and has a bail set at $30,000.
