Baton Rouge rapper Kevin Gates is pretty popular in his home state, but was recently handed an unusual ban from visiting one specific group of fans — those serving sentences in the state’s correctional system. According to The Advocate, Louisiana’s largest daily newspaper, Gates has been banned from all state corrections after a photo of the rapper flashing handfuls of $100 bills inside Elayn Hunt Correctional Center hit social media several months ago.
During an ostensible visit to his father at Elayn Hunt in July, Gates apparently posed with several inmates holding a stack of fanned-out hundreds — a violation of the prison’s visitation policy, which only allows visitors to bring in $300 at a time. Two correctional officers were also reprimanded over that violation and several others. Deputy Warden Perry Stagg and Major Jason Linzy not only allowed Gates to bypass body scanners, but also allowed him to drive his car through the front gates without being searched. Gates also skipped the visiting office and never signed the visitor’s log.
During the investigation into the violations, it was discovered that Gates has no verified family relationship with any inmate at the facility. Finally, as a felon himself, Gates should never have been allowed to visit the facility in the first place. Stagg has since been reassigned to his previous post as an assistant warden at Angola — taking a pay cut in the process — while Linzy received a letter of counseling.
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The Department of Corrections also recommended filing a criminal complaint against Kevin Gates, despite no evidence of wrongdoing outside of the photos, which were geotagged from the prison. Since no contraband was seized, there’d be no evidence and prosecution is reportedly unlikely.
Gates recently released his sophomore album, I’m Him, this past weekend via Bread Winners’ Association. Get it here.
Kevin Gates is a Warner Music artist. .
