Fans rally behind country singer Darius Rucker after drug arrest

Darius Rucker’s fans are coming to his defense.

The outpouring of support followed news that the Hootie & the Blowfish frontman was arrested in Williamson County, Tennessee, on Thursday, Feb. 1, and booked on three misdemeanor charges, which included two counts of simple possession/casual exchange of a controlled substance and one count of a violation of the state’s vehicle registration law, the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office.

Though authorities did not identify the controlled substance or exactly what led to the arrest, law enforcement officials told TMZ the 57-year-old musician had expired tags on his car. After he was taken into police custody and booked on the minor charges, Rucker was released on a $10,500 bond.

Rucker’s attorney has since shared the following statement with numerous outlets, “Darius Rucker is fully cooperating with authorities related to misdemeanor charges.”

While the rocker-turned-country crooner’s fans don’t know for certain what drugs the musician was allegedly found with, they speculated it was most likely marijuana and slammed the naysayers–who included his ex Kate Quigley, who called him a “d-bag” and the situation related to his “karma” in statements she shared via X (formerly Twitter).

“Are these ‘drugs’ also called marijuana?” one Instagram user asked.

“Give him a damn break. It’s legal in some states. Darius is a great guy,” a second wrote.

Similar comments read, “Just legalize weed already” and “legalize weed,” both nods to the fact that the substance is still illegal in Tennessee, where he was arrested.

“Leave him Alone!!!!” another exclaimed.

“Will y’all just leave Darius Rucker alone and let him smoke his weed,” someone else shared. “You don’t need to arrest anyone for weed anymore. We have bigger issues for law enforcement to tackle.”

A different social media user begged in part, “Stop [arresting] folks for weed!!!”

“Save Hootie! #notacriminal #nationaltreasure #DariusRucker,” another added.

Next: Darius Rucker on Golf, Kids, and Making the Grade in Country