Super Bowl halftime performer who ran with protest flag found guilty of resisting an officer
May 11, 2026, 5:32 PM
FILE - A flag is raised during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A performer who disrupted Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance has been found guilty of resisting an officer after police said he ran across the field with a Sudanese flag that read “Sudan and Free Gaza,” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced Monday.
Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, 41, of New Orleans was among dozens of dancers wearing black outfits as part of the hip-hop artist’s Feb. 9, 2025, performance at the Caesars Superdome.
While Nantambu was authorized to be on the field, he deviated from his assigned role when he held up the flag while standing on the roof of a car used as a prop in the performance, according to the Louisiana State Police. He then jumped off the stage and started running. Security and law enforcement personnel ran after him, and he refused to comply with their commands to stop, the state police said.
Nantambu surrendered to authorities after an arrest warrant was obtained, the agency said. He was booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center on charges of resisting an officer and disturbing the peace by interruption of a lawful assembly. He was only found guilty of the resisting an officer charge, a misdemeanor, in the trial before Chief Judge Juana Marine-Lombard.
“We appreciate the chief judge’s careful consideration of the evidence and the decision to hold this individual accountable for resisting law enforcement officers who work every day to protect our communities,” Murrill said.
Nantambu will be sentenced June 1, the attorney general’s office said. He could face a fine of up to $500 and up to 6 months in prison, according to state law.
He has also received a lifetime ban from all NFL events.
In a separate case, Nantambu is listed as the victim of a shooting outside a celebrity boxing event in Miami in May 2025.
Former NFL player Antonio Brown is facing an attempted murder charge after authorities say he grabbed a handgun from a security worker at the boxing event and fired two shots at Nantambu. Nantambu told investigators that one of the bullets grazed his neck.
Brown has said he was defending himself. A trial date for him was set for January 2027.
