Chicago-born rapper and streamer Aspen Kartier has reportedly been arrested on charges of animal cruelty in Georgia.
According to Atlanta news outlet WSB-TV, the 19-year-old (real name Aspen Easterling) was booked on Friday (January 30) after a video circulating on social media appeared to show her abusing a Maltipoo puppy.
Easterling was identified as a suspect, and after her Town Boulevard address was confirmed from the video, officers obtained a search warrant and arrested the drill rapper at her home after 9:30 p.m.
The three-month-old puppy was also found at the home and appeared to be in good health. The dog has since been taken in by the DeKalb County Animal for Control for protection while Easterling is currently in the DeKalb County Jail.
The Twitch streamer has over 71,000 followers on the platform, although her page has since been temporarily taken down. As TMZ details, the video showed Kartier grab and toss her dog by the nape of its neck, which can cause severe pain and injuries. In a follow-up clip, Kartier denied hurting her dog and claimed that he was "overexaggerating."
"Tell them that you’re fine. Tell them right now," Kartier told her dog, who was whimpered in clip below.
The news comes after the streamer’s Twitch channel was listed as "temporarily unavailable," after PETA spoke out.
When reached for comment by Complex, a PETA spokesperson said that Twitch "was right" to take action on Kartier’s account, though the extent of that action remains unclear for now.
"People are rightly horrified by the video in which Aspen Kartier raises her arm several times and appears to strike her dog as he wails, before moving off camera while the sounds of the dog’s distress continue," a PETA rep told Complex.
"Anyone who would beat and terrify their dog should never go near one. Twitch was right to suspend this account. Now we urge authorities to immediately investigate, prosecute if appropriate, and, hopefully, seize this dog so that nothing like this ever happens again and the dog gets a chance at a loving home."
