Overview
Nick Rekieta's Arrest refers to the purported May 2024 detainment of Minnesota lawyer, YouTuber and streamer Nick Rekieta of the Rekieta Law YouTube channel, following an alleged, months-long descent into alcoholism and drug abuse, which some viewers claimed to have noticed during his streams leading up to the arrest. Rekieta, who is also being sued by YouTuber Montagraph after allegedly making false accusations of him being a pedophile, was purportedly arrested along with his wife Kayla and April Imholte on firearm and drug possession charges. The detainment went viral on social media and inspired memes and rumors that Rekieta's downfall began after he put on a replica of Chris-Chan's Sonichu medallion sent to him by an unknown party in October 2023, with the memes claiming the medallion is supposedly cursed. On May 2024, Rekieta attended his arraignment over Zoom, during which it was revealed that he was being charged with possessing over 25 grams of cocaine or meth.
Background
Intoxication / Problematic Behavior On Streams
Throughout early 2024, multiple clips of lawyer and content creator Nick Rekieta, in which many noted that he appears to be intoxicated while streaming on Rumble and YouTube, were uploaded online. Rekieta also became more aggressive on his streams, with incidents that include publicly making fun of a suicidal fan who reached out to him and comparing Michelle Obama to a baboon (clips shown below, left and right).[1][2]
On May 21st, 2024, Rekieta hosted a now-deleted livestream (reupload shown below) after finding out that he lost his court appeal regarding a slander lawsuit leveled against him by YouTuber Montagraph, who Rekieta purportedly accused of being a pedophile. Throughout the stream, Rekieta can be seen drinking.
That day, several X[3] users, including @HappyHouseVideo, uploaded a clip from the now-deleted livestream in which he appears notably intoxicated at the end of his stream, sits quietly with his head in his hand and then wonders why his camera is still on, the user writing, "What is going on with Nick Rekieta?" A clip from the same stream was also shared, supposedly showing him returning from a break with a substance under his nose.[4]
Also on May 21st, X[5] user @BhilPurnell2 posted a video combining a clip of Rekieta talking about being able to control his alcohol drinking, followed by the clip of him failing to realize his stream is still running, garnering over 2,100 likes in three days (shown below). On May 22nd, the video was uploaded to the subreddit /r/sadcringe,[6] where it gained over 5,000 upvotes in two days.
On May 22nd, 2024, YouTuber[7] The Feltorcist posted clips from a stream by Kick streamer Kinocasino in which they hypothesize, using enhanced audio, that Rekieta is receiving oral sex from April Imholte in the clip. Imholte is associated with the Steeltoe Podcast and is the ex-wife of Aaron Imholte, one of Rekieta's ex-friends. It has been rumored that Rekieta is cheating on his wife with Imholte, although this is unconfirmed speculation.
Nick Rekieta is the perfect example of "When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you." pic.twitter.com/HPH3xn9rlc
— Bahama Breeze Bhil Purnell (@BhilPurnell2) May 21, 2024
Developments
May 2024 Arrest
On May 23rd, 2024, claims that Nick Rekieta, his wife Kayla and April Imholte were arrested began spreading on social media, along with screenshots of their purported arrest records. The records claim that the Rekietas were arrested on 5th-degree drug possession and possession of a firearm or ammo, while Imholte was arrested on only 5th-degree drug possession (shown below).[8][9]
According to a Fox9[17] report, the police attempted to execute a search warrant on Rekieta's home on May 23rd but were greeted at the door by a girl who refused to let them enter. They used a door ram to enter the home, where the Rekietas, Imholte and four children were found inside.
Police found drugs and paraphernalia around the home, including cocaine and ketamine. They also reportedly found a "Sig Sauer AR with several magazines and loose ammunition underneath the bed, a spent shell casing on the bedroom floor, and located additional firearms and ammunition in the garage."
Aaron Imholte's Response
On May 24th, 2024, X[13] user @cenkpesos shared a clip of Aaron Imholte finding out that April Imholte was arrested in real-time during a May 23rd stream on the MLC Podcast on YouTube[14] (shown below). The episode garnered over 14,000 views in under a day.
On May 24th, X[15] user @ChristheNarc uploaded a clip of Aaron Imholte claiming that Rekieta did two lines of cocaine in front of him (seen below). He also alleges that Rekieta got April addicted to co*ke and that he tried to express his concerns about the cocaine use to Rekieta multiple times, only to have Rekieta attempt to justify it in various ways.
Aaron, Nick Rekieta’s ex friend tells how much co*ke Nick has done and how he got his ex wife hooked on it. Jesus Christ there are so many more stories this dude has told tn pic.twitter.com/ppuhIpKfTx
— ChristheNarc (@ChristheNarc) May 24, 2024
Arraignment
On May 24th, 2024, YouTuber[16] MLS God of Law hosted a livestream in which he sat in on Rekieta's Zoom arraignment (shown below). During the arraignment, Rekieta's charges were read and it was revealed he is being charged with possessing over 25 grams of cocaine or meth, with a max sentencing of 25 years in prison.
He has also been charged with possession of a firearm or ammo while intoxicated and child endangerment. The stream was trolled throughout, with people joining the Zoom call to hurl insults at Rekieta.
Search Warrant Released
On May 28th, 2024, Rekieta's search warrant was made publicly available, inspiring law YouTubers, content creators and others interested in the case to comb through it. For example, that day, YouTuber Legal Mindset posted a video going through the warrant that gained over 60,000 views in under 10 hours (shown below).
That same day, X[18] user @TeeExTee posted a segment of the warrant that details how Rekieta was losing weight, how track marks were seen on his arms, how his kids were allegedly wearing the same clothes for days and more (shown below).
Online Reactions
Chris-Chan Sonichu Medallion Curse Theory
On October 14th, 2023, Rekieta hosted a stream on Rumble[10] in which he tells a story about how he received a mysterious package containing a cryptic note and what appears to be a replica of Chris-Chan's Sonichu medallion. During the stream, he can be seen putting on the medallion (shown below).
Just before his May 2024 arrest, some people started to hypothesize that the medallion was cursed and putting it on is what caused Rekieta's downfall into addiction. For example, on May 22nd, 2024, X[11] user @FolderBloat posted about the theory, garnering over 8,500 likes in two days (shown below).
On May 23rd, hours before Rekieta's alleged arrest went viral, X[12] user @ChrisBoresIG, known best for his Irate Gamer persona but now working as a ghost behaviorist, posted a video about the medallion theory, offering some support for the theory that it was cursed, garnering over 850 likes in a day (shown below).
Alot of people are asking me to expand on the paranormal insight on the Nick Rekieta medallion curse. I'm not familiar with him, but here's my analysis you guys are asking for. #curse #nickrekieta#ghost #ghostdoctor #ghostbehaviorist #paranormal #ghoststories #haunting… pic.twitter.com/5ZNx2bnWYf
— Chris Bores – Ghost Behaviorist (@ChrisBoresIG) May 23, 2024
Search Interest
External References
[1] YouTube – Elissa Clips
[2] YouTube – Elissa Clips
[3] X – HappyHouseVideo
[4] X – TheGoodTomKing
[5] X – BhilPurnell2
[6] Reddit – sadcringe
[7] YouTube – The Feltorcist
[8] X – CoolHandJames0
[9] X – ThatUmbrella
[10] Rumble – Rekieta Law
[11] X – FolderBloat
[12] X – ChrisBoresIG
[13] X – cenkpesos
[14] YouTube – MLC Podcast
[15] X – ChristheNarc
[16] YouTube – MLS
[17] Fox9 – Nick Rekieta, MN lawyer and YouTuber, facing drug charge
[18] X – TeeExTee
