Kanye West Arrested at LAX

[*Casey*]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rap star Kanye West was arrested at the Los Angeles International airport on Thursday after a scuffle with photographers and is expected to be charged with vandalism, an airport spokesman said.

 

West's bodyguard also was taken into custody after grabbing a photographer's camera and a television camera and smashing them to the ground, said celebrity Web site TMZ.com, whose cameraman was involved.

 

Los Angeles airport spokesman Alberto Rodriguez said both West, 31, and his bodyguard were in police custody and were expected to be booked on charges of felony vandalism later on Thursday. The bodyguard also faces a charge of battery.

 

Rodriguez said West was arrested about 8 a.m. (11 a.m. EDT) outside the passenger security screening area.

 

TMZ, which caught much of the incident on camera, said West rushed at a photographer and grabbed his camera. A struggle followed and West took the camera and threw it to the ground.

 

His bodyguard then ordered the TMZ cameraman to stop taping and to hand over his camera. "The assistant then grabbed the camera, ripped off the mic and viewfinder and smashed it to the ground," said the report on TMZ.

 

West, a nine-time Grammy Award winning rapper and record producer, performed at the MTV Music Video Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, singing his new song "Love Lockdown."

 

 

YIKES!

[Yari]

I heard it on the radio this morning...I live in LA, so there were people on the radio that were in LAX & called in...so funny.

 

It is sort of scarey how far the paparazzi go, I think it is getting ridiculous.

[Angel]

That is wild.