Kid Rock Stunt Leads To Army Aircrew Suspension, Pete Hegseth Overturns It

Kid Rock has been busy campaigning against Live Nation, doing a cold plunge with a denim-clad RFK Jr., and presumably rehearsing for the MAGA-friendly Rock The Country tour, but he's maintaining some time for personal hijinks. For instance, on Saturday his social media accounts posted footage of a US Army helicopter hovering outside his elevated Tennessee home. The video showed Rock, born Bob Ritchie, applauding and encouraging the chopper alongside a human-sized replica of the Statue of Liberty under a sign that reads "The Southern White House."

Apparently the point of this display was to own Gavin Newsom, who seems to be ramping up for a 2028 presidential run. "This is a level of respect that shit for brains Governor of California will never know," Rock captioned the video. "God Bless America and all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend her."

Although Kid Rock's hero Donald Trump has helped to cultivate an accountability-free environment for right-wingers in the US, it turns out people got in trouble for this little culture war stunt.

“I think they’re going to be all right,” Kid Rock suggested to WKRN yesterday as an investigation of the incident began. “My buddy is the Commander-in-Chief. But now the crew that flew the AH-64 Apaches to Kid Rock's home from Fort Campbell, Kentucky has been suspended.

"Army aviators must adhere to strict safety standards, professionalism, and established flight regulations," the Army says in a statement. "An administrative review is underway to assess the mission and verify compliance with regulations and airspace requirements."

No one would have ever known or cared about this if Kid Rock hadn't posted it, but the whole point of doing it was to post it, so. Hopefully these helicopter pilots will still be allowed to watch hologram Charlie Daniels perform at Fort Campbell on July 4.

UPDATE: Pete Hegseth lifted the suspension on Tuesday evening. "Thank you @KidRock," the Secretary Of Defense wrote on X. "@USArmy pilots suspension LIFTED. No punishment. No investigation. Carry on, patriots."