NEW ORLEANS — The NFL spent a lot of time this week talking about how this was going to be the most secure Super Bowl ever, but someone still managed to evade security to crash Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show and the reason they were able to do is because they were a PART of the show.
At one point during Lamar’s set, a man was seen carrying a Palestinian flag. The man got on a podium and then ran around with the flag for several minutes before security realized what was happening and that he wasn’t doing anything that was part of the show.
After the man was apprehended, multiple security officers ended up dragging him off the field.
The man was part of the 400-member cast that took the field for Lamar’s halftime show. The unidentified man will not face charges for his actions, New Orleans police said on Monday. However, he will be banned from all future NFL-related games and events.
“We commend security for quickly detaining the individual who displayed the flag,” the NFL said in a statement. “He was a part of the 400-member field cast. The individual hid the item on his person and unveiled it late in the show. No one involved with the production was aware of the individual’s intent.”
Security at the Super Bowl is always extremely tight and with President Trump in attendance it was beefed up even more than usual. The Department of Homeland Security and the Louisiana State Police are among the law enforcement agencies that take part in the security of the game.
The man’s protest didn’t interrupt the halftime show with Lamar finishing his halftime set just as planned.
