- A Los Angeles judge granted Lil Nas X entry into a mental health diversion program, putting him on track to have his felony assault case dismissed by April 2028.
- Judge Alan Schneider ruled the August 2025 arrest was linked to Lil Nas X’s bipolar diagnosis and was “aberrant from his normal conduct.”
- The rapper must complete a two-year treatment plan, obey all laws, and avoid weapons or threats of violence for all charges to be wiped from his record.
Lil Nas X walked out of a Los Angeles courthouse Monday (April 6, 2026) with a grin on his face, and honestly? He had every reason to smile.
The Grammy-winning rapper, born Montero Hill, appeared in an L.A. courtroom where Judge Alan Schneider determined that his charges would be cleared so long as he complies with a treatment plan and obeys all laws for the next two years. That’s a pretty significant win for someone who, not long ago, was staring down the very real possibility of years behind bars.
The 26-year-old was facing up to five years in prison on four felony charges for allegedly attacking police officers while wearing little more than underwear and cowboy boots — a detail that’s as alarming as it is hard to forget.
The incident that kicked all of this off happened back in August 2025. LAPD officers were called on a report of Hill walking nearly naked along Ventura Avenue in the Studio City neighborhood at about 5:30 a.m. Officers tried to take him into custody, and things escalated from there. Authorities claimed Hill assaulted the responding officers, injuring three of them. He was later charged with three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one count of resisting an executive officer.
After spending a weekend in jail and getting released on a $75,000 bond, Hill broke his silence on Instagram. He called the incident “terrifying” in a social media post, saying, “Your girl is gonna be OK, y’all. That was fucking terrifying. That was terrifying. That was a terrifying last four days. But your girl is gonna be all right.”
Now, months later, there’s a real path forward.
Judge Schneider found that the August arrest was “aberrant from his normal conduct” and determined the incident was linked to Hill’s diagnosis of bipolar disorder. That finding is what opened the door to the mental health diversion program — a route that, if completed successfully, could wipe his record clean entirely.
The judge didn’t hold back in his assessment of Hill’s progress either. “When treated, he is much better off, and society is much better off,” the judge said, adding that Hill “appears to be doing very well.”
During Hill’s court appearance, his defense lawyer, Christy O’Connor, said that he had voluntarily checked himself into an Arizona treatment facility and received nearly two months of inpatient care. That kind of proactive step clearly made an impression on the court.
The conditions of the diversion aren’t exactly light. Hill will have to stay in treatment for bipolar disorder, obey the law, not possess any weapons, or threaten violence for two years. It’s a structured path, but given the alternative — a potential felony conviction and prison time — it’s one Hill seems more than willing to walk.
The mental health diversion is set to run through April 2028, at which point the judge will decide whether to formally dismiss the charges. If that happens, his record will be wiped clean. The judge also set a progress report hearing for July 29, though Hill won’t need to appear in person for that one.
Outside the courthouse, Hill was candid but clearly relieved. “I’m thankful. Just very thankful,” he told Rolling Stone. “It could have been much worse.”
When reporters asked about how he was doing with his treatment, he kept it short and sweet: “I’m here, baby.” And when pressed on what’s next, he said he was “just going through the flow of life.”
It’s a quieter, more grounded version of the Lil Nas X the world is used to seeing — and maybe that’s exactly the point. The assault case isn’t fully dismissed yet, but for the first time since last summer, the road ahead looks a lot clearer.
