Cardi B in court for hearing on alleged assaults at New York City strip club
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Rapper Cardi B was back in court Tuesday on assault charges stemming from an August 2018 strip club brawl in Queens.
The hearing centered on allegations that Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar, communicated through social media to plot an assault against the woman who allegedly had an affair with her husband, rapper Offset.
The Grammy-winning rapper sported a feather-trimmed black coat with a long train and a wide-brimmed black hat to her court date.
Cardi B, 27, is accused of fighting with bartenders at the Angels Strip Club in College Point.
She and alleged co-defendants Tawana Jackson-Morel and Jeffrey Bush were previously charged with misdemeanor assault for allegedly throwing glass bottles at the two bartenders.
After turning down a no jail plea bargain, Queens prosecutors put the case in front of a grand jury, which upgraded the top charges against Cardi B and the others to felonies.
In court Tuesday, the rap star's attorneys raised a red flag after Instagram and Facebook denied their subpoenas for material on the alleged victims' phones, posts they maintain will call the allegations into question.
"We believe she's innocent, and so we're investigating all aspects," lawyer Drew Findling said after the court appearance.
Cardi B whispered to him and attorney Jeff Kern in court but otherwise didn't speak.
She has pleaded not guilty, and her lawyers have denied she harmed anyone.
The next court date is January 17. Cardi B does not have to appear.
Cardi B boasts chart-topping hits including "I Like It" and the Maroon 5 collaboration "Girls Like You." She won a best rap album Grammy for "Invasion of Privacy" this year and has notched other honors, including the American Music Awards' favorite rap/hip hop artist title.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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