Tekashi 6ix9ine walked out of Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center on Friday with a SpongeBob doll signed by Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, who was also detained there.
Tekashi 6ix9ine, the rapper known for his flashy lifestyle, shared on Friday that Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, while in custody, had signed a SpongeBob SquarePants doll he owned during their time in a federal detention center in New York City. The bizarre story stands out as one of the strangest celebrity run-ins linked to the infamous jail.
The 29-year-old rapper walked out of Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center early Friday morning. To celebrate his release, he showed off what he claimed to be Maduro’s signature on the toy along with his collection of expensive jewellery and other flashy accessories.
Tekashi 6ix9ine, Bushwick rapper. Photo taken on November 12, 2017 at 2:09pm.
Photo credit: Fabebk, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
A video on Tekashi’s Instagram shows him holding a pile of papers in one hand and a Nickelodeon toy character in the other as he walks out of federal prison free again after his recent time behind bars.
“Maduro signed it, look,” he told his friends, showing them the messy signature on the toy. “Maduro second of April Venezuela forever.”
Since January, Maduro has been locked up at MDC. US forces caught him in Caracas and brought him to the US to stand trial.
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Tekashi, whose birth name is Daniel Hernandez, landed in MDC this past January after violating his probation. He assaulted someone and kept MDMA and cocaine in his room. These actions got him locked up.
Back in 2019, authorities sent him to prison because of his role in the violent Nine Trey Gangsta Blood gang. However, concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic and his health risks led to his early release.
His lawyer and the Bureau of Prisons told TMZ that he got out Friday morning before dawn. Now, he’s free again.
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When he stepped out as a free man, they handed him an enormous chain weighing over four pounds and almost 400 carats, according to the report. The chain reflected the extravagant lifestyle he is known for.
On Instagram, Tekashi said the necklace cost over $2 million, although jewelry experts haven’t confirmed the actual price.
“Fresh OUT THE FEDS $2,200,000 on my neck. GOD IS THE GREATEST. MY LORD AND SAVIOR,” he wrote also mentioning, “MADURO SIGNED MY JAIL HOUSE SPONGE9INE.”
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The federal jail has housed many well-known inmates throughout the years. Some of the notable names include alleged CEO shooter Luigi Mangione, Diddy, R. Kelly, Ghislaine Maxwell (linked to Jeffrey Epstein), and Maduro along with his wife. This makes it one of the most famous detention facilities in the nation.
The couple faces drug-trafficking charges.
Source:
David Propper (April 3, 2026). Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine brags that Maduro signed his SpongeBob toy in the infamous NYC lockup. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/04/03/us-news/rapper-tekashi-6ix9ine-brags-that-maduro-signed-his-spongebob-toy-in-infamous-nyc-lockup/
Header image:
Tekashi 6ix9ine, Bushwick rapper. Photo taken on November 12, 2017 at 2:09pm.
Photo credit: Fabebk, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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