The Untold Story of Morgan Wallen’s 2016 DUI Arrest

Morgan Wallen's arrest on multiple felony charges on April 7 is only the latest chapter in a series of very public embarrassments for the country superstar.

His various problems have been widely reported, from personal problems to legal entanglements — with the exception of an arrest from January of 2016, which has gone mostly unreported.

How Many Times Has Morgan Wallen Been Arrested?

Morgan Warren has been arrested three times that we know of.

Fans are already very familiar with Wallen's troubled history, the highlights of which include an arrest on May 23, 2020. Nashville police arrested Wallen that night after he was kicked out of Kid Rock's bar in downtown Nashville for reportedly kicking glass items inside the establishment.

That resulted in charges of public intoxication and disorderly conduct, which prosecutors later dropped.

Alcohol also played a role in the infamous February 2021 incident in which Wallen was caught on camera using the N-word, which he later admitted happened at the tail end of a 72-hour drinking bender. That resulted in his label suspending him, while country radio dropped his music for a time and he was barred from participating in the major awards shows that year. Police were not involved in that incident, and Wallen was not arrested.

Wallen's most recent arrest happened after the singer threw a chair from the sixth floor of Eric Church's newly opened bar, Chief's, in downtown Nashville. The singer faces three counts of felony reckless endangerment and one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct stemming from that arrest. It's unknown if alcohol played a role in that arrest.

Those incidents have been widely reported, but Wallen also faced arrest in 2016, the same year he signed to Big Loud and released his debut single, "The Way I Talk."

Has Morgan Wallen Ever Had a DUI?

What's far less widely known is that Nashville police also arrested Morgan Wallen on Jan. 18, 2016. He faced charges of misdemeanor driving under the influence after that arrest, which prosecutors later dropped.

It's not possible to obtain further details about that arrest and the decision not to prosecute, since it no longer appears on government websites. An employee at the Davidson County Court Clerk's office tells Taste of Country that the most likely reason is that the case has been expunged.

Morgan Wallen is scheduled to appear at trial on his most recent arrest on May 3.

NOTE: PR, management, label reps, management and legal counsel for Morgan Wallen did not respond Taste of Country's request for comment at the time of publication.