US government drops charges of drunken, reckless driving against Bruce Springsteen

The government dropped drunken driving and  reckless driving charges against Bruce Springsteen on Wednesday stemming from an incident in November, admitting that the rocker’s blood-alcohol level was so low that it didn’t warrant the charges.

Springsteen pleaded guilty to a third charge, consuming alcohol in a closed area, the Gateway National Recreation Area. Better known as Sandy Hook, it is an Atlantic Ocean peninsula with views of the New York City skyline.

Facing a judge and more than 100 onlookers in a video conference, Springsteen sat next to lawyer Mitchell Ansell and admitted he was aware it was illegal to consume alcohol at the park.

“I had two small shots of tequila,” Springsteen said in response to questions from an assistant US attorney. The case was heard in federal court because the park is considered federal land.

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US Magistrate Anthony Mautone fined Springsteen $500 for the offence, plus $40 in court fees.

“I think I can pay that immediately, your honour,” Springsteen told Mautone.

In an emailed statement, Ansell wrote that Springsteen “is pleased with the outcome” of the court hearing.

According to a probable cause document written by park police at the time of the incident, Springsteen told a park officer he had done two shots in the previous 20 minutes but  wouldn’t take a preliminary breath test before he was arrested. Mautone said Wednesday that the preliminary test is not required, and is not admissible in court.

When he took a breath test at the park’s ranger station, Springsteen’s blood-alcohol came back .02, a quarter of the legal limit in New Jersey, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The officer wrote that he saw Springsteen take a shot of tequila and then get on his motorcycle. The officer wrote that the rocker “smelt strongly of alcohol” 14 November and “had glassy eyes” and that there was a bottle of Patron tequila that was “completely empty.”

The report described Springsteen as “visibly swaying back and forth” during a field sobriety test and said he declined to provide a sample on an initial breath test.

After news of the arrest, Jeep put on pause an ad that ran during the Super Bowl featuring Springsteen in Kansas urging people to find common ground.

Jeep said in a statement Wednesday it was unpausing the ad now “that the matter has been resolved.”

“As we stated previously, we paused the commercial until the facts were established,” Jeep said.

Springsteen performed 20 January as part of President Joe Biden’s inauguration, singing ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’ in front of the Lincoln Memorial.