Matthew David Hughes is the 32-year-old Clinton Township, Michigan man who stalked rapper Eminem and broke into his home twice between 2020 and 2024. In June 2025, a Macomb County judge sentenced Hughes to a minimum of 18 years in prison after a jury convicted him of first-degree home invasion and aggravated stalking.1Detroit Free Press. Eminem Stalker Gets Prison in Invasion at Rapper’s Clinton Township Home
A Five-Year Pattern of Targeting Eminem
Hughes’s fixation on Marshall Mathers III surfaced in 2019 at a Rochester Hills property Eminem had previously owned. Hughes approached the new homeowner saying he was “looking for his brother Marshall,” was found at the guest house, and served a 90-day jail term for breaking and entering.2The Guardian. Eminem Stalker Matthew David Hughes Found Guilty
The second incident was far more serious. In the early morning of April 5, 2020, Hughes threw a brick paver through a back window of Eminem’s Clinton Township home, got past the round-the-clock security, and made his way to the rapper’s living quarters. Eminem testified that he woke to find Hughes standing behind him and at first thought he was looking at his nephew. When he realized the man was a stranger and asked why he was there, Hughes told him he was there to kill him, according to law enforcement testimony. Eminem then walked Hughes out of the house.3ClickOnDetroit. Man Who Broke Into Eminem’s Clinton Township Home Told Rapper He Was There to Kill Him
Hughes pleaded no contest in 2021 to a reduced charge of second-degree home invasion and was given five years of probation with credit for time served.4WTEN News10. Man Who Broke Into Eminem’s Home Gets Probation, Time Served An unrelated assault arrest later that year violated his probation and sent him to prison. He was paroled in May 2024.2The Guardian. Eminem Stalker Matthew David Hughes Found Guilty
About three months after his release, Hughes was back. On August 26, 2024, around 7:00 a.m., Eminem’s security team spotted him on the Clinton Township property after he had entered through an unlocked door. He fled on a stolen bicycle and was arrested four days later after an Eminem employee recognized him at a nearby Walmart.5Rolling Stone. Eminem Stalker Convicted in Second Home Break-In
The 2025 Trial and Verdict
Hughes’s jury trial opened May 6, 2025, before Macomb County Circuit Judge Diane Druzinski and lasted about a day and a half. Eminem took the stand on the morning of May 7 under his legal name, Marshall Bruce Mathers. Prosecutors introduced the 2024 trespass along with evidence of the earlier incidents, including the 2020 death threat. The jury deliberated roughly 30 minutes before convicting Hughes of first-degree home invasion and aggravated stalking.6Detroit Free Press. Eminem Stalker Matthew Hughes Second Home Invasion Conviction He was also found to be a second-offense habitual offender, an enhancement that can raise sentencing ranges under Michigan law.7CBS News Detroit. Eminem Stalker Sentenced to Prison
What His Sentence Actually Is
On June 17, 2025, Judge Druzinski imposed 15 to 30 years for first-degree home invasion and 3 to 7 and a half years for aggravated stalking. The two terms run consecutively, putting Hughes’s minimum at 18 years before parole eligibility. They also run consecutive to any time he still owes on his earlier parole violation, and he received no credit for the months spent in county jail awaiting trial.1Detroit Free Press. Eminem Stalker Gets Prison in Invasion at Rapper’s Clinton Township Home
The sentencing order permanently bars Hughes from contacting Marshall Mathers III and requires him to stay at least 500 feet from Eminem’s home, school, or workplace.1Detroit Free Press. Eminem Stalker Gets Prison in Invasion at Rapper’s Clinton Township Home
The Effect on Eminem
Prosecutors told the court the repeated intrusions had reshaped the rapper’s daily life. After the 2020 break-in, Eminem began sleeping in a padlocked room in a secluded part of the house and continued expanding an already round-the-clock security operation. Assistant Prosecutor Steven Fox described the pattern at sentencing: “Security 24/7. And each time that step has had to increase, but only as the result of one person’s actions, Matthew Hughes. The world becomes smaller. He’s on an island.”5Rolling Stone. Eminem Stalker Convicted in Second Home Break-In