6ix9ine has been transferred to a high-security facility on Rikers Island, otherwise known as the Contagious Disease Unit, and the reason for the move is for his safety, TMZ reported on Friday (July 13).

Authorities revealed to TMZ that the rapper was sent to a 140-cell portion of the New York City jail, which is primarily used to house inmates who are battling illness. In this case, the controversial rapper is being held there because it's simultaneously used for high-profile celebrity inmates for their own safety, keeping them away from the general population. Tekashi69 will have absolutely no contact with other inmates even when he is taken outside for his hour of recreation. His only source of communication will be with correctional officers.

According to reports, 6ix9ine will be locked up until his July 20 hearing, before he is extradited to Texas where he's wanted for allegedly choking a 16-year-old inside of Houston's Galleria Mall in January. After returning from his European tour, authorities arrested the rapper on Wednesday afternoon (July 11) as soon as he landed in the Big Apple. Team 6ix9ine said they were aware of the warrant and intended to handle the matter soon, but insisted that the NYPD had no business arresting him and extraditing him to Texas for a misdemeanor case.

According to court documents from May 10, the rapper (born Daniel Hernandez) committed the misdemeanor offense of assault (bodily injury) on Santiago Albarran, who stated that the star "grabbed him by the neck, causing small scratch marks and pain" after he pulled out his camera to record him at the shopping venue on January 6, 2018.

In case you missed out, Tekashi and fellow rapper Ugly God organized a fan meetup in early January, which resulted in the physical altercation between Tekashi and the 16-year-old. After the rapper reportedly yelled at him to erase the footage, the complainant claimed that Tekashi grabbed him by the neck with his hand, prompting his bodyguards to surround the pair in the mall. Albarran's family was with him during the incident, so he finally erased the footage in an attempt to not escalate the altercation. Later on, he reported the incident to the authorities and took to the blogosphere to go public with the debacle. Ugly God took to Twitter to defend his friend in a now-deleted tweet, admitting that the assault was provoked by Albarran, who tossed out several insults to make a moment out of the encounter.