Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, was ordered immediately freed from a Manhattan federal prison four months early on Thursday by a judge who cited his asthma and the greater danger he would face behind bars during the novel coronavirus outbreak.
U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer made the ruling a day after telling lawyers on both sides that he intended to do so. Engelmayer cited “a raging and virulent pandemic that has entered federal prisons in New York City.” Prosecutors did not oppose the action. “In light of the heightened medical risk presented to Mr.
Hernandez by the COVID-19 pandemic, there are extraordinary and compelling reasons to reduce Mr. Hernandez’s sentence,” he said.