A woman accused the 42-year-old of raping her on his tour bus in Washington early on Saturday morning.
The rapper is on tour with Florida Georgia Line there, and was set to perform in Ridgefield, WA on Saturday night.
Sources said the alleged attack occurred at 3.45AM, and Nelly - whose real name is Cornell Iral Haynes Jr - was specifically identified by the victim.
He was charged with second degree rape at 7AM and taken into custody.
Auburn police spokesman Commander Steve Stocker confirmed officers arrested the Grammy-winner early Saturday morning in his tour bus at a Walmart, and that he will have an appearance before a judge 'at some point.'
Nelly's lawyer subsequently claimed he was 'the victim of a completely fabricated allegation.
'Our initial investigation, clearly establishes the allegation is devoid of credibility and is motivated by greed and vindictiveness,' he said.
'I am confident, once the scurrilous accusation is thoroughly investigated, there will be no charges.
'Nelly is prepared to pursue all all legal avenues to redress any damage caused by this clearly false allegation,' he added.
