Free Republic

Released Thursday after being arrested more than two years agoRapper Young Thug is a free man after pleading guilty to gang, drug and gun charges. About two and a half years after he was arrested on the charges in a sprawling gang and racketeering indictment, Young Thug was released from custody Thursday evening. It was a remarkable development in a trial that's dragged on and been plagued by problems. Jury selection at the Fulton County courthouse in Atlanta began in January 2023 and took nearly 10 months. Prosecutors had called dozens of witnesses since opening statements last November in the...

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - A former detective who investigated Atlanta rapper Young Thug and others was disqualified from serving as a witness in the musician’s extensive gang and racketeering trial on Thursday. Former Atlanta police detective Ty Dennis had been testifying for hours when he mentioned that one of the defendants, Deamonte Kendrick, had been released from jail. At the time, the prosecution was questioning Dennis about Kendrick standing on the hood of a luxury vehicle owned by rapper and alleged rival gang member YFN Lucci. The remark prompted Kendrick's attorney, Doug Weinstein, to call for a mistrial. Judge Paige...

The criminal trial of rapper Young Thug, which is being prosecuted by the office of Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis, is set to receive a new judge. Willis, best known for pursuing still-pending felony election subversion charges against former President Donald Trump, indicted the Grammy Award-winning rapper, whose real name is Jeffrey Williams, on racketeering, gun and drug charges in Fulton County in May 2022. Williams is one of 28 people accused of violating Georgia's RICO Act for alleged membership of a street gang called "Young Slime Life," or YSL, which shares initials with name of his record...

FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA—On July 2, Judge Ural Glanville published the full transcripts of a secret meeting he had with rapper, Young Thug, who has been jailed on racketeering charges. On July 3, Judge Glanville put the trial on hold, recused himself over allegations of misconduct, and published the transcripts. The meeting reportedly took place on June 10. The jury was on break until Monday, July 8th. This and the case of the state of Georgia v. Donald J. Trump have been postponed. Judge Glanville made the following statement regarding the meeting. “The court, is of the opinion, based on the...

Ashleigh Merchant—the attorney who led the effort to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the election interference case against former President Donald Trump and his allies—is wading into another major RICO case prosecuted by Willis' office. Merchant made an unexpected appearance at the Fulton County Courthouse on Monday afternoon to defend another Atlanta-based attorney who, in a shocking twist, was arrested while in court.

Channel 2′s Michael Seiden was in the courtroom when Brian Steel was taken into custody after he refused requests to answer how he heard about a “secret” meeting between prosecutors, the judge and a key witness in the YSL trial, Kenneth Copeland, on Monday morning. Judge Ural Glanville gave Steel until 5 p.m. to disclose the source of information about the meeting, arguing that Steel wasn’t supposed to have any communication with a state witness sworn to testify. Despite facing a contempt charge, Steel refused to reveal his source, citing client-attorney privilege. Video showed Steel take off his jacket before...

Why wasn’t this prosecutor sanctioned and jailed? A top prosecutor from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office screamed at the judge overseeing the RICO trial of rapper Young Thug. Assistant District Attorney Adriane Love shouted at Judge Ural Glanville on Wednesday after she was told she wasn’t properly handling the RICO case against Young Thug, AKA, Jeffrey Williams, and other defendants. “Well, then you all should have gotten yourself together beforehand,” the judge said to Love. The judge continued, “Have a seat, madam! Have a seat! You better exclude that and next time, make sure you’re prepared!” “You continue...

ATLANTA — The rap star Young Thug, one of the most influential artists to emerge from Atlanta’s famously fertile hip-hop scene, was arrested on Monday on suspicion of gang involvement and conspiracy to violate of the Georgia criminal racketeering law. The rapper, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, was charged in a sweeping grand jury indictment that identified him and 27 other people as members of the same criminal street gang and charged some of them with violent crimes including murder and attempted armed robbery. Mr. Williams has reshaped the rap world throughout his decade-plus career and inspired a host...

Rapper Young Thug was arrested in Georgia on Saturday for one count of marijuana possession and tinted front windows, a representative for the Brookhaven Police confirmed to Variety. The rep confirmed that the rapper — real name: Jeffrey Lamar Williams — is facing felony charges although he was unable to provide further details at press time. It seems likely the stiff charge is related to Thug’s 2015 arrest after a police raid on his home in Sandy Springs, Georgia, that saw him charged with felony marijuana and cocaine possession and three counts of felony gun possession. All except the marijuana...