Is Montana 700 arrest video real? Viral claim debunked

A YouTube video featuring unverified claims about the Oak Cliff, Dallas, rapper Tony “Montana 700” McDowell recently went viral. 

A YouTube channel, Rap Thread, recently uploaded a 19-minute video featuring a compilation of the 700 Reasons artist’s clips. The video is accompanied by a narration about Montana 700’s alleged arrest. The narrator discusses the rapper's alleged involvement in illegal activities and his raps about them. The video concludes: 

“Montana 700 story is a familiar but tragic one. A young man who rose from the hustle of his neighborhood, turned his experiences into music, and built a name for himself off the authenticity that fans craved. But that same authenticity is now being used against him in a federal courtroom. ” 

The narrator also cited Montana 700’s association with Zillionaire Doe as the reason behind his arrest. However, the YouTuber didn’t provide any evidence in the video or the description to support their claim. The channel has previously uploaded similar content, making fabricated claims with clickbait-worthy titles. 

Furthermore, Montana 700 also uploaded new Instagram Stories after Rap Thread uploaded the video about his arrest. Thus, the assertions about his arrest are unfounded, while the rumors surrounding the federal charges against him also lack credible evidence. While the recent arrest video is fake, an old clip also surfaced months back. 

Shared by Instagram handle, @texxposedtv, the past footage depicted a young Montana 700 being detained at a school. During an interview with the Dallas Observer in February 2025, the rapper opened up about spending some time in a youth detention center and how he started rapping after having a conversation with a late friend, Mark Dean Burnough. He recounted: 

“We was on the phone. I had moved to Houston. This was when I was staying in Houston. We just got out of juvenile. Like I said, we did everything together from [when] we was kids. So when we went to jail, we got home. I moved to Houston three months later. We was talking everyday like he was my best friend. We talked for hours.” 

Montana 700 recalled receiving praise from Mark when he sang him his rap weeks before his passing. Dallas Observer noted that McDowell honored his late friend by including his gravesite on the back cover of his mixtape. 

More about the “New Dallas” rapper, Tony “Montana 700” McDowell

The 25-year-old music artist was born in Oak Cliff, Dallas, on November 15, 1999, according to Famous Birthdays. Montana 700, born Anthony McDowell, garnered fame in recent years and released his debut mixtape, 700 Reasons, in early 2025. McDowell is known for his association with Southern Rap, particularly with the “New Dallas” movement, a term coined by Zillion Doe. 

Speaking with the Dallas Observer in February 2025, Montana 700 talked about the movement and said: 

“It’s what is going on right now in the city, banded together. Everybody as one.” 

McDowell further described it as: 

“[The New Dallas movement is] timeless music, something you could listen to forever.”

The Pipeline singer, who comes from a family of six siblings, also reflected upon his tumultuous past and expressed gratitude for the career he has now. Montana 700 told Dallas Observer: 

“To do what I’m doing is like winning a championship in the streets. To be able to switch lanes, find another way to make money, feed your family, and build generational wealth, that’s like winning a championship.” 

He added: 

“I’m the last one. All my partners are dead or in jail. I can count on my fingers how many partners I have left. I ain’t over 25. I had partners since I was 15.”

During the conversation, the rapper also spoke about losing one of his close friends, Mark Dean Burnough.