Travis Scott will not face criminal charges for Astroworld tragedy

In 2021, fans of the rapper Travis Scott attended his Astroworld festival in Houston, TX for a day of entertainment from some of the biggest names in hip-hop and R&B. Unfortunately the day ended in tragedy as a crowd crush during Scott’s headline performance led to thousands of injuries and ten deaths, resulting in an ongoing investigation and lawsuit into the operation.

Over a year and a half after the horrific events of Astroworld, a grand jury has issued six “no-bills” around the event and evidence presented. A “no-bill” is utilized when a jury can’t find enough evidence to indict a defendant of a crime. Not only will Travis Scott not face any charges, but festival manager Brent Silberstein, John Junell of Live Nation, security planners Seyth and Shawna Boardman, and former employee at event production company BWG, Emily Ockenden were also included in the “no-bills” decision.

Travis Scott’s attorney Kent Schaffer released this statement following the ruling:

“My client Travis Scott will not be charged with criminal charges or any wrongdoing for his involvement with AstroWorld festival.

Today’s decision by the Harris County District Attorney confirms what we have known all along, that Travis Scott is not responsible for the AstroWorld tragedy.

This is consistent with investigative reporting by numerous media outlets and federal and state government reports that have squarely placed the onus for event safety crises on organizers, operators and contractors — not performers.

While waiting patiently for the District Attorney’s decision to not file charges, Travis Scott has been inaccurately and wrongly singled out, despite stopping the show three separate times and being unaware of the events as they were unfolding. Now that this chapter is closed, we hope for the government efforts to focus on what is most important — stopping future heartbreaking tragedies like AstroWorld from ever occurring again.”

While Travis Scott and other organizers were cleared from facing criminal charges in this instance, they are still a number of civil cases filed that are still active in Texas courts. Although avoiding criminal charges is certainly a relief to Scott and others, the civil cases filed seek billions of dollars in damages.

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