Official Upset With Rap Video Shot In W. Va. Courtroom

NEW CUMBERLAND, W.Va. (AP) — Guns, fatigues, and a violent crime: A rapper used a West Virginia courtroom to film his vigilante-themed music video, and that has disturbed one local official.

Hancock County Commissioner Jeff Davis is not happy that the courtroom was used by a Weirton rapper known as Mini Thin.

Davis wants his fellow commissioners to adopt rules to ensure a similar scenario doesn't occur again, The Weirton Daily News (http://bit.ly/1TB9EVI) reported.

Jason Mallas said that in his musical persona as Mini Thin, he used the Circuit Court chambers to film the video June 12.

An actress named Jennifer Blaze wore fatigues during the four-hour shoot, and fake guns were used to depict a story about the rescue of a rape victim.

Mallas said the video is a spoof on the 1999 movie "The Boondock Saints," about two Boston brothers who become vigilantes.

"We needed a courtroom," Mallas said. "If it wasn't that one, it would be another one. I'm glad we were able to use it."

Davis said the shoot sends the wrong message about public safety.

"I hope that, as long as I'm part of this watch, it doesn't happen again," he said.

Davis said county officials were unaware of the shoot in the Northern Panhandle courtroom.

Mallas said the courtroom was scheduled through a judge's office. Security, he said, was handled through the Hancock County Sheriff's Department.

"I went through all the proper channels," he said. "I didn't just march in there and say, 'We're shooting a video.'"

Hancock County Sheriff Ralph Fletcher said the film crew was screened at the courthouse entrance and a bailiff provided security in the courtroom. Mallas reimbursed the county for the bailiff's time, he said.

Fletcher said, however, he was under the impression the courtroom was being used for a documentary.

As for the video shoot sending out the wrong message, Mallas said Davis missed the point. He said his songs deliver messages against bulling and drug use.

"They can go ahead and think whatever they want," he said. "They don't know my story."

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Information from: The Weirton Daily Times, http://www.weirtondailytimes.com

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