The recording artist Clifford Harris, a popular hip-hop artist who records under the name T.I., was placed back in federal prison in Atlanta after he had been granted an early release, which would have allowed him to serve the rest of his sentence in a halfway house. Apparently, federal officials did not approve of his choice to travel from the prison to the halfway house in a private tour bus.

Rather than be transported by prison officials, Harris arranged to provide his own transportation. According to a representative for Harris, the prison officials watched him board the bus when he left the prison. The representative says there was never any intent to mislead authorities concerning the method of transportation. Despite this, authorities are apparently considering whether riding the tour bus violated the terms of the early release agreement.

Harris had already served ten months in prison and had only a few weeks left to spend in the halfway house. The initial incarceration was the result of a negotiated sentence to resolve federal weapons charges. Authorities say that Harris had tried to buy prohibited arms outside an Atlanta grocery store. After that sentence, he was released on parole, but arrested on drug charges. The drug charges were dropped, but he subsequently failed a drug test while still on parole.

It is not yet clear exactly why riding in the tour bus raised the ire of prison officials. When he boarded the bus, he immediately began filming for a VH1 reality television series intended to chronicle his reintegration after spending nearly a year in federal prison.

Source: CNN, “Bus ride detours Rapper T.I.’s early release from prison,” Alan Duke, Sept 2, 2011