The Army has begun an inquiry into videos that show a pair of Apache helicopters hovering close to the musician Kid Rock’s residence in Nashville over the weekend, Pentagon officials said on Monday.
The helicopter gunships appeared to be the same ones that flew over a “No Kings” protest held on Saturday in Nashville, a gesture that some attendees said felt like intimidation.
But it was the videos posted by Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, on social media on Saturday that prompted official scrutiny. One video shows Mr. Ritchie waving and saluting as a helicopter hovers near the pool at the 27,000-square-foot mansion he has christened the Southern White House, which is fashioned after the original structure in Washington.
In a second video, another helicopter can be seen flying above the first as Mr. Ritchie continues to wave. The musician, who has been vocal about his support for President Trump, shared the videos with some derogatory commentary about Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, adding “God Bless America and all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend her.”
Mr. Ritchie’s manager did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Maj. Jonathon Bless, a spokesman for the 101st Airborne Division, which is based about 60 miles north in Fort Campbell, Ky., said that an administrative review — which is not, he stressed, an investigation — would “assess the mission and verify compliance with regulations and airspace requirements.”
The helicopters, Major Bless said, had been in the Nashville area for training, and he called their appearance over the No Kings rally “entirely coincidental.”
While Major Bless did not address the rally portion of the flight, Pentagon officials said that would be part of a review. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the internal discussions.
Some of the people who attended the protest in Nashville said the brief flyover was jarring as they assembled in a park. Many in the sprawling crowd of thousands grumbled at what they said felt like a pointed maneuver, but did not leave.
Even for the couple of people familiar with the occasional training flight, and at least one other close flight over a Tennessee Titans game in 2021, it was an unusual sight.
“That’s taxpayer dollars right there,” said Sandra Sepulveda, a Nashville councilwoman who was at the protest and saw the helicopters. She added: “They could have chosen any other place, any other time to do a training exercise. So why was it this location specifically?”
The videos provoked some eye-rolling in liberal-leaning Nashville. Mr. Ritchie, whose stardom began in the Detroit area with the image of a no-holds-barred party beast, has evolved into a conservative flag-bearer and cultural icon in the MAGA movement. He joined many conservatives in moving south to Tennessee, and most recently headlined counterprogramming to Bad Bunny’s performance at the Super Bowl halftime show.
The military has faced scrutiny before for its use of helicopters during protests. In 2020, as thousands converged on Washington to protest the death of George Floyd, Army National Guard helicopters flew low and used the downward blast from their rotor blade to disperse protesters.
The appearances of the helicopters in Nashville were not the only incidents connected with No Kings rallies in Tennessee that raised alarm. In Memphis, roughly three hours away, a confrontation toward the end of the day became violent, as police officers used pepper spray and aggressively detained protesters whom they accused of failing to clear the road.
Three people were arrested and the officers involved have been placed on administrative leave during an investigation, Mayor Paul Young of Memphis said.
Emily Cochrane is a national reporter for The Times covering the American South, based in Nashville.
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