Julia Fox once referred to her brother as a "mad scientist recluse" in an interview. It has received renewed attention following a series of charges he faces after a police raid on his New York City apartment.
Christopher Fox, 30, was arrested after law-enforcement officers uncovered bomb-making materials, ghost guns and evidence of narcotics manufacturing in his Manhattan home early Wednesday. Their father, Thomas Fox, 65, was taken into custody by police, but not charged.
Christopher Fox has been charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, the manufacturing of a machine gun, and the manufacturing of a rapid-fire modified device. There are also charges of criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm, and criminal use of drug paraphernalia, among several others.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) told U.K. newspaper The Independent that a search warrant at the property was executed by its Major Case Field Intelligence Team. It was part of a "specialised, long-term investigation" into narcotics and ghost guns.
The raid and arrest comes more than three years after Julia Fox, 33, shared an insight into her unconventional family life in an interview with High Snobiety.
Discussing being born in Milan, Italy and growing up in New York City, the Uncut Gems star said: "My dad is American. He's, like, a seventh-generation New Yorker. He's out of his mind. I pretty much grew up with him. Single dad. Poor guy.
"My mom stayed in Italy. And I have two younger brothers. One is close in age to me, and the other one is 15," Fox added. "The 15-year-old lives in Italy with my mom, but the older one grew up with me in New York. He still lives here, but he's not really around. He's like a mad scientist recluse. He builds 3D printers for fun."
Fox admitted that things were "kind of unstable" for the family, as they moved around the city and were even homeless.
"I grew up Uptown, mostly," she told the outlet. "We moved around a lot. It was kind of unstable. We were homeless at one point. I actually have lived in almost every single neighborhood—Harlem, Chelsea, everywhere. I moved Downtown when I was 17 and I haven't left."
Julia Fox, who briefly dated Kanye West in early 2022, has not publicly commented on her brother's recent arrest.
Christopher Fox was also discovered to have possession of 3D printers for manufacturing illegal guns, as well as components typically used in making explosives.
The NYPD has stated that there is no evidence of any ties to terrorism. Christopher Fox is due back in court on March 13.
"The NYPD will continue to fight relentlessly against illegal guns—against both the steady proliferation of traditionally-manufactured firearms and the increasingly prevalent numbers of illegal, untraceable but fully functioning weapons known as ghost guns," the police department said in a statement.
The raid comes several months after the Supreme Court struck down a more-than-100-year-old gun law in New York that required individuals to show "proper cause" to get a license to carry a firearm outside a home.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams condemned the Supreme Court's gun ruling last June. He said it "will put New Yorkers at further risk of gun violence," while New York Governor Kathy Hochul called the move "reckless and reprehensible."
President Joe Biden also said in a statement that he was "disappointed" with a ruling that overturns a law that had been in effect since 1911.
"More than a century later, the United States Supreme Court has chosen to strike down New York's long-established authority to protect its citizens," Biden said. "This ruling contradicts both common sense and the Constitution, and should deeply trouble us all."
About the writer
Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
