Adam Kelly, is an underground rapper who has gained a following on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Kelly is most well-known for his signature dance, in which he gets on all fours and swings his head in a circle.
On April 7, 2025, Kelly was banned from the Chicago Bean after he had a fan meet-up in which over 500 people showed up to do Kelly’s dance with him. After the meet-up, the Chicago police department contacted Kelly, who gave him footage of the meet-up, a court date, and a ban on returning to the Bean.
Then on April 8, 2025, Kelly chose to return to the Bean and taunted the police, saying, “If you banned me from the Bean, this is for you,” and proceeded to do his signature dance.
On April 11, 2025, Kelly’s wanted poster was released, and the police nicknamed him “the Bean Bandit” and offered a $50,000 bounty. Then, on April 12, after more social media postings, the bounty was raised to $300,000, with Kelly saying, “My bond needs to be at least two million dollars.”
The same day, Kelly posted himself inside an unknown stairwell, claiming that he would turn himself in. Despite this, he did not turn himself in and instead told his fans that if they managed to catch him, he would split the reward money with them.
On April 14, after going to a rugby game and taunting law enforcement, the bounty was raised to three million dollars. This led Kelly to cut contact with all friends and family.
He then claimed he would go to the Bean again, saying, “I will be walking around the city, I dare the Chicago police department to try and catch me. I hope we can get my reward up to ten million dollars.”
After April 14, there were almost no developments as the police had seemingly given up on their hunt for Kelly. This is believed to be because it was a minor offense that started the chase, and Kelly had no intent to cause harm to anyone.
“I think he just wanted the attention, he’s not really a bad person,” Robert Lutz (10) said.
However, on April 25, he was apprehended at the Bean by the Chicago police for violating the ban they had placed upon him. He was held in police custody for the night, but was released the morning after, bringing the three-million-dollar chase to an end.
