Singer Chris Brown was arrested Friday afternoon for a probation violation in connection to his 2009 conviction for assaulting his former girlfriend Rihanna, Los Angeles County Sheriff Capt. Mike Parker told NBC News.
Brown was picked up at the Malibu rehab facility where he has been staying under court order. He was arrested without incident around 2 p.m. and taken to the inmate reception center in downtown Los Angeles, where he was booked into jail and held without bail, Parker said.
"The reason for the probation violation is not provided in the arrest warrant so we do not know why," Parker said. The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office also told NBC News the reason for the arrest was unknown.
In November, Brown was ordered to a 90-day live-in anger-management treatment program, where he would have to complete three eight-hour days of community service each week and undergo periodic drug tests. But prosecutors in February asked a Los Angeles judge to send Brown back to jail because of new evidence they said investigators obtained from witnesses to an altercation Brown allegedly had in Washington in October. The singer faces a misdemeanor assault charge in D.C for allegedly hitting a man trying to take a picture of him outside a hotel. The testimony from the witnesses, prosecutors argued, prove he violated his probation.
But the judge turned down the request, opting instead to keep Brown in rehab, citing his progress in a live-in rehabilitation program and continued good behavior.
Psychologists at the rehab center have diagnosed Brown with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to probation reports obtained by NBC News.
Brown's attorney Mark Geragos did not immediately return calls from NBC News on Friday.
In the probation report filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in February, Brown stated that he "would like to inform the court that he appreciates what he has learned in the rehabilitation facility, as it has allowed him to change his life for the better." The singer also said he "remains thankful to the court for the opportunity to find out and learn about himself, his anger issues and the type of person he wants to become, which is a man who is able to better himself and be a positive role model."