Fat Joe’s Attorney Reacts After Lawyer Tyrone Blackburn’s Arrest

On Monday (June 23), Fat Joe‘s legal team confirmed that attorney Tyrone Blackburn — who is representing Terrance Dixon, Joe’s ex-hypeman — was arrested and charged with second-degree assault.

The charge stems from an incident where Blackburn reportedly struck a process server with his vehicle while attempting to dodge being served with legal documents.

According to Joe’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, the moment unfolded as a process server approached Blackburn to deliver a lawsuit tied to an April 2025 filing. Rather than accept the papers, Blackburn allegedly tried to flee the scene, hitting the server with his car in the process. Although he was ultimately served, Blackburn’s decision to resort to physical evasion has now landed him in cuffs.

In the suit filed earlier this year by Joe, it names both Blackburn and Dixon, accusing them of extortion, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. At the heart of the claim is a demand letter sent to Joe in March, in which Blackburn and Dixon alleged that Dixon had served as a “ghostwriter and uncredited vocalist” on several of Fat Joe’s songs and asked for payment.

The “Lean Back” rapper’s legal team dismissed the demands as fraudulent, but received a second complaint threatening a lawsuit packed with what Fat Joe’s lawyers called “false and outrageous allegations,” including claims of statutory rape, sex trafficking, and fraud. Once a warrant was issued for Blackburn’s arrest, the lawyer and Dixon filed a retaliatory lawsuit against the rapper, a move Joe’s team says was just another calculated effort to smear his name.

Tacopina spoke with VIBE about the recent arrest, stating that the news came as no surprise.

“Our team’s reaction is that it’s not a surprise at all,” Tacopina said. “Normally, a lawyer getting arrested would be sort of shocking. Here, it’s not shocking at all, because it’s just the latest example of his conduct. His malicious, manipulative conduct — or misconduct — that’s what I’ll call it … he’s an embarrassment to the legal community, he really is.”

Tacopina referenced past disciplinary concerns raised by federal judges, citing patterns of behavior he believes demonstrate a bad legal strategy. “Two federal judges have recently excoriated him. The way he’ll file a suit almost just to embarrass someone, to get publicity for himself, to get money, and then the suit falls flat on its face.”

According to Tacopina, the conduct surrounding the case further calls Blackburn’s credibility into question. “Unfortunately for him, he’s run to the wrong defendant and wrong defense team, because we’re not going to puss around, the truth will come out here and he’s going to wind up in a very difficult position.”

In terms of potential courtroom impact, Tacopina believes Blackburn’s legal history may play a role. “I think the judge will have taken into consideration all the conduct of the lawyers before the court, because that’s just part of the credibility of any advocate,” he said. “If a federal judge wrote about me, what she wrote about him, I would quit law. I’d go make espressos at Starbucks or something. I would die. But, he’s just oblivious to this stuff.” Tacopina pointed to the arrest as further reflection of Blackburn’s character.

Despite the accusations and media attention, Tacopina said the Terror Squad boss is in good spirits and focused on moving forward. “Joe’s a great guy, I’ve known him for a long time. As we say, tough times don’t last, tough people do,” he said. “This is not fun for anyone to go through, even if it’s completely false, which it is. But, he still has to go through it.” He added, “I spoke to him today, he was very positive, he has got a good outlook. But this is something now he has to deal with, false allegations from someone who has zero credibility and does things just to garner publicity for himself.”

As for the case itself, Tacopina firmly believes there is no legal risk to his client. “He’s not going to be found liable. There’s no scenario where Joe would be found liable in this case. An allegation is just an allegation, especially a civil allegation,” he continued. “This is just some guy making a claim to get money. But yet that being said, it’s still very difficult for him, because he’s got all these deals with different companies, and he’s the face of different things.”

Tacopina concluded by casting doubt on the defendants’ ability to cover any potential financial fallout, as well. “There are damages that are piling up, and I don’t know where Tyrone Blackburn, and Mr. Dixon are going to get the money to pay Joe back, because I’m sure together they don’t have enough to cover any of the damages.”

The arrest is also not Blackburn’s first. In April 2024, Judge Denise Cote of the Southern District of New York referred him to the grievance committee for allegedly filing cases in federal court not to seek justice, but to bring media attention and pressure settlements with sensational claims.

Just a month before Joe’s initial lawsuit, Judge J. Paul Oetken also took issue with Blackburn’s behavior, citing “inaccurate statements of law” and “irrelevant insults, misstatements, and exaggerations” in his legal filings.