Travis Scott dodges blame for Astroworld disaster

A Houston grand jury decided not to indict the case Astroworld 2021 tragedy. They cleared it Travis Scott and several festival organizers are criminally responsible for the deadly festival. The rapper’s lawyer, Kent Schaffer, said the decision confirms that Scott is not responsible for the tragedy.

Several managers and promoters were acquitted of the charges. However, civil litigation is still ongoing to determine the civil liability of Astroworld’s organizers.

Read on to learn more.

Travis Scott will not face criminal charges

Houston grand jury finds no indictment for 2022 Astroworld disaster. Based on Notice boardHeOn June 29, a jury acquitted rapper Travis Scott and festival organizers of criminal charges for the lives lost that day.

After an almost 19-month police investigation, a grand jury said lawyers had not provided enough evidence to support the charges. During the 2021 festival, the now infamous concert was mobbed, ten people were killed and hundreds were injured.

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced the jury’s decision at a news conference. He said police found and produced “every relevant piece of evidence”, interviewed every witness involved and watched “thousands and thousands of hours” of videos from the festival.

Ogg added: “Our task is narrow. To determine whether this tragedy, this absolutely catastrophic, horrific event involved a crime against anyone. In this case, the jury found that no crime had occurred—no person was criminally liable.”

Travis Scott is not responsible for the Astroworld tragedy

Scott’s attorney, Kent Schaffer, released a statement Notice board after the jury’s decision became public knowledge. He said the decision “confirms what we’ve known all along — that Travis Scott is not responsible for the Astroworld tragedy.”

Schaffer said the decision was consistent with “numerous media outlets and federal and state government reports that have placed responsibility for event security crises on organizers, operators and contractors, rather than performers.”

He added, “While patiently awaiting the District Attorney’s decision not to press charges, Travis Scott was inaccurately and wrongly singled out despite the fact that he stopped the show three times and was unaware of the events as they unfolded.” Schaffer concluded by saying that the focus now must be on preventing tragedies like Astroworld from happening again.

Senior Astroworld organizers face criminal charges

According to Ogg’s statements, the grand jury also cleared other senior Astroworld figures of criminal liability. They include freelance operations manager Brent Silberstein, Live Nation head of security John Junell, Shawna Boardman and Seyth Boardman, who represented Contemporary Services Corporation.

Also there was Emily Ockenden, managing director of the BWG operating company, who was the festival’s emergency contact. The charges cleared by the grand jury were a major victory for Scott and those officials, but they still face civil liability for damages caused by the tragedy.

There are still more than 400 civil lawsuits filed by alleged victims of Astroworld

More than 400 lawsuits have been filed by thousands of alleged victims against Scott and the festival’s organizers. The lawsuits allege that the rapper and organizers were grossly negligent in planning and executing the event. Those cases have now been consolidated into a large class action seeking billions of dollars in damages.

The civil proceedings are currently in the discovery phase, which is a lengthy court process. At this stage, both sides present their evidence to the opposing side and depose witnesses and key figures. The case will eventually go to trial, but this type of civil litigation often leads to large financial settlements.

At the press conference, Ogg talked about the civil lawsuit, saying it’s completely different than the investigation and the jury’s decision. He said: “What happens in the courts where civil law is exercised is not for us to determine.”