A vicious attack on the heavily tattooed rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine at a Florida sauna is calling into question the wisdom of his return to public life, after he testified against his gang member friends in a 2019 federal trial that put them away for long prison sentences.

According to the 26-year-old rapper’s attorney, Lance Lazzaro, Tekashi 6ix9ine — real name Daniel Hernandez — sustained injuries to the face after being ambushed in the sauna of an upscale South Florida gym Tuesday.

Mr. Lazzaro told TMZ that Hernandez was attacked inside LA Fitness’s sauna by multiple men. Although he tried to fight off his attackers, the pint-sized rapper was unsuccessful.

A video of the incident obtained by TMZ shows two men grappling Hernandez on the ground and kicking him in the torso and head. Gym staff, after hearing the attack, notified the manager and called the police and EMS. Hernandez was transported to the hospital by ambulance.

Mr. Lazzaro said that his plan is to call federal authorities to secure protection for Hernandez. According to Mr. Lazzaro, Hernandez was without security at the gym, though he has been known to hire bodyguards.

News of the attack was met with speculation on social media that the incident could be related to Hernandez’s testimony in a gang-related criminal case from 2019.

One observer tweeted, “6ix9ine finally got his a– jumped.” Another asked, “6ix9ine where is your army of security”? Another simply said, “Y’all they finally got 6ix9ine.”

Overwhelmingly, the sentiment seems to be that an attack like the one in Florida was expected, given his history of cooperation with authorities.

In the case, Hernandez pleaded guilty to nine charges, including conspiracy to commit murder and armed robbery, that could have netted him a minimum sentence of 47 years in prison.

Hernandez, who argued that he merely “hung out” with alleged gang members rather than engaging in criminal acts, agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and testify against his friends who were accused of belonging to the Nine Trey Bloods gang. His highly detailed testimony riveted the court, providing a rare window into the inner workings of one of New York City’s most notorious gangs. Hernandez received a sentence of two years.

With Hernandez as a star witness, federal prosecutors won multiple RICO convictions, sending eight alleged gang members to prison for between four and 20 years.

The convictions put a harsh spotlight on Hernandez, who’d built a large and lucrative following based in part on his public association with gangs and gang violence, including rap videos in which he brandished a pistol with men in gang colors dancing behind him. Hernandez, however, was nonplussed.

“What I did wasn’t snitching, what I did was being smart and realized that God put me there,” Hernandez told TMZ after serving his sentence in 2021. 

Hernandez’s case was groundbreaking at the time because it was one of the first and most high-profile cases where prosecutors used streetwise song lyrics to put an artist behind bars.

The issue raised questions about the legitimacy of using performers’ lyrics against them in court and whether a persona played on stage could be used against a defendant in a court of law. With Hernandez being a Brooklyn native, the case drew immediate criticism from New York state officials.

“No one ever thought that Johnny Cash was going to shoot a man in Reno just to watch him die or Bob Marley shot a sheriff but spared a deputy,” a state senator of Manhattan, Brad Hoylman, told Fox5NY at the time. “That’s exactly what prosecutors are trying to convince juries about across the country.”

A similar situation is ongoing at Atlanta, where the Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis (the same prosecutor investigating President Trump for alleged election fraud), is using lyrics as evidence in her prosecution of superstar rapper Young Thug.

Prosecutors in Georgia allege that Young Thug — real name Jeffery Lamar Williams — co-founded the Atlanta-based gang Young Slime Life, which shares an acronym with the rapper’s 300 Entertainment imprict, Young Stoner Life.

Although the legitimacy of using lyrics against someone isn’t settled, Hernandez was released from prison early due to concerns about Covid and Hernandez’s asthma.

Hernandez refused witness protection after testifying against the Nine Trey Bloods, ostensibly because his tattoos, including those on his face, would render him immediately recognizable.

Although the rapper could have tried to have his tattoos removed or have been put in protection in an extremely remote  location where there would be no one to recognize him, Hernandez was set on returning to his lucrative artistic career.

Shortly after his release from prison Hernadez was back in the music world, releasing “GINE,” his first post-sentence single in November 2022, though some material had been released while he was serving his sentence.

Hernandez’s return wasn’t as successful as his hit single “GOOBA” or his 2018 debut album “DUMMY BOY,” though he still boasts nearly 10 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

The recent incident in Florida suggests that Hernandez might not have such an easy time returning to his career or living a public life without people seeking out retribution against a perceived “snitch.”