Meek Mill Heads to Prison to Start His Sentence Despite Public Outcry

Karen Mizoguchi
Updated

Meek Mill is officially behind bars.

The 30-year-old rapper — born Robert Rihmeek William — entered the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution at Graterford in Montgomery County, on Wednesday, two days after a judge sentenced him to two to four years for violating probation in a 2008 gun and drug case by getting arrested twice this year.

In his mugshot photo, Mill is in a yellow jumpsuit, which is worn by newly received inmates at Graterford and is different from the normal department of corrections jumpsuit, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Susan McNaughton told local Philadelphia news outlet WCAU.

Mill was previously in jail for eight months and on probation for five years due to a 2008 conviction for gun and drug charges. In 2016, Mill was placed under 90 days of house arrest for violating probation due to unapproved travel.

In March, he was charged with misdemeanor assault after an altercation with employees at St. Louis International Airport. The charges were dropped after he agreed to perform community service.

Then in August, PEOPLE confirmed that Mill was charged with reckless endangerment in New York City. He later plead guilty to reckless driving.

Despite the charges being dropped, Judge Genece E. Brinkley ruled the arrests were violations of his probation.

Mill’s lawyer, Brian McMonagle, told PEOPLE exclusively on Tuesday that he is planning on fighting his client’s prison sentence. “We fully intend to right this terrible wrong and bring him home,” McMonagle said.

After news of the sentencing was released, many celebrities, including JAY-Z, voiced their support for Mill while criticizing the legal system.

In addition, a petition was created on Change.org, titled “Somebody Save Meek Mill,” that called for Tom Wolf, Governor of Pennsylvania, to reevaluate the rapper’s sentencing.

“Meek Mill has been a powerful voice in the community for our youth,” the petition states. “He has made positive contributions to many communities and programs, dedicating time and money to the cultivation of our youth and neighborhoods; even through his own adversities. He has continued to be dedicated and shown an immaculate work ethic, even at times when the system tried to prevent him from being able to tour, which is how he makes a living.”