The Army has grounded two helicopter crews and opened a formal investigation after their aircraft deviated from an authorized training mission to buzz the Tennessee home of musician Kid Rock and hover over protesters attending anti-Trump rallies in the state, officials said Tuesday.
Robert Ritchie, whose stage name is Kid Rock, posted videos Saturday showing himself saluting and clapping as an Army AH-64 Apache loiters just off the pool area of his mansion in Whites Creek, a suburb of Nashville. The two crew members reply with hand gestures that appear to be returning the salute. In another video, a second Apache is shown in the background climbing in the air.
One of the helicopters, used by the Army for close attacks and air support for ground troops, spent three minutes circling the home at least four times, according to publicly available flight tracking data. It did not descend below 675 feet, according to the data.
After an initial review of the incident, Army leaders escalated their response to an administrative investigation, said Maj. Montrell Russell, an Army spokesman.
“The personnel involved have been suspended from flight duties while the Army reviews the circumstances surrounding the mission, including compliance with relevant FAA regulations, aviation safety protocol, and approval requirements,” Russell said. “The Army takes any allegations of unauthorized or unsafe flight operations very seriously and is committed to enforcing standards and holding personnel accountable.”
— KidRock (@KidRock) March 28, 2026
Two aircraft from the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade were involved, officials have said. The crews were flying a training mission, and a flyby at Ritchie’s home was not part of that mission or an Army-sanctioned outreach event, nor did he request it, said Maj. Jonathon Bless, a spokesman for the division.
The unit is based northwest of Nashville at Fort Campbell, an Army post that straddles the Kentucky-Tennessee line.
The Washington Post was unable to reach Ritchie.
The Army is also probing the helicopters’ proximity to gatherings that were part of the nationwide No Kings protests Saturday. One helicopter flew by demonstrators six times within about two hours at McGregor Park in Clarksville, Tennessee, dipping as low as 625 feet, according to publicly available flight data. At one point it briefly circled an area where protesters were gathered.
The Apache crews were not assigned a mission to monitor or otherwise disrupt the demonstrations, Bless said, describing the association as coincidental.
The helicopter broadcasts on a system that registers every few seconds, making the flight path collected by trackers somewhat imprecise at times.
Military helicopter flights in populated areas have been under intense scrutiny following the deadly midair collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines civilian passenger jet in Washington in January 2025, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft.
A safety investigation found systemic failures that led to the tragedy. The Justice Department saidthe U.S. government was liable for the disaster, saying the Army helicopter crew failed to see or avoid the incoming plane, and air traffic controllers at Reagan National Airport failed to alert the jet of the incoming helicopter.
The incidents in Tennessee also have political overtones. Ritchie is an enthusiastic supporter of President Donald Trump and is widely admired among the president’s political base.
Earlier this year he made an unusual workout video with Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to promote Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again initiative.
After Trump complained about the NFL’s choice of Bad Bunny, a Spanish-language artist from Puerto Rico, to perform at this year’s Super Bowl, Ritchie was featured in an alternative “All-American Halftime Show” organized by the conservative activist group Turning Point USA. He described the event as a patriotic performance for those who “love football, love America, love good music, love Jesus.”
Ritchie also briefly considered running for a Senate seat in 2017.
Aaron Schaffer contributed to this report.
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