On January 1, 2025, a routine encounter turned serious for Brooklyn rapper Fivio Foreign, aka Maxie Lee Ryles III. In the Edgewater section of New Jersey, a woman approached Ryles outside an apartment complex, requesting that he jump-start her car. Instead of helping her, however, Ryles is said to have drawn a gun and issued a threat:
“If I see you parked out in front of this building again, there is going to be a f***ing problem”
Security footage from the complex and the testimony of eyewitnesses supported her claim, creating a chilling portrait of the encounter. The episode turned quickly into a cause célèbre, generating attention because of the celebrity status of the respondent.
On January 5, 2025, Ryles was arrested and is still in custody. He had initially been charged with five counts: terroristic threats, illegal possession of a weapon, assault by a weapon, and two others. He pleaded guilty to the charges of third-degree terroristic threats on May 27, 2025, as part of a plea agreement, with the other four charges likely to be dropped. His lawyer, Adam Lustberg, is requesting that he be given probation when he is sentenced in August 2025, as he believes the time he is currently serving will be enough.
In New Jersey, a third-degree terroristic threat is defined as threatening an act of violence to intimidate or cause a disturbance in a public manner, like threatening with a weapon to intimidate. Third-degree terroristic threat can lead to a five-year jail sentence, though probation is an alternative depending on the circumstances of the case. Significantly, no weapon was seized, which Lustberg refers to as a flaw in the case for the prosecution as it is “one of the flimsiest” he’s handled in more than 20 years.
Fivio Foreign became a central figure in the drill music movement in Brooklyn with the 2019 single “Big Drip.” With his feature verses for artists such as Kanye West, Alicia Keys, and Lil Tjay, as well as the 2022 album B.I.B.L.E., which reached the top ten of the Billboard 200, he solidified himself within the world of hip-hop. Outside of music, Ryles has given back to the community by working with the Foreignside Foundation, a charity established to engage with and support vulnerable youth.
Nevertheless, though, Ryles’ professional life is not free from controversy. In April 2021, he got arrested in New Jersey for possession of a loaded handgun with a tampered-with serial number after leading the authorities on a chase. In August 2024, he was criticized for sharing a video clip from an online platform depicting a person injecting hard drugs, which he justified as a reflection of “street realities”.
The New Year’s Day incident has sparked varied reactions. Some fans express concern over the allegations, worried about the impact on Ryles’ career, while others are reserving judgment until the sentencing. Legal analysts note that the absence of a recovered firearm could weaken the prosecution’s case, but the guilty plea indicates sufficient evidence for the terroristic threats charge. Supporters highlight Ryles’ community work, while critics point to his history of legal troubles as a pattern.