Free Republic

After coming under fire for not securing any murder convictions in the YSL RICO case, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis stood her ground on the overall effectiveness of her team on Thursday. “Crime is down,” Willis said during an interview with 11Alive in the lobby of Atlanta City Hall. “What my constituents say, who just voted [for] me by 68%, is, ‘She’s doing an amazing job.’” Her answer was in response to being questioned directly about her team’s inability to secure murder convictions for any of the eight defendants who were charged with murder in the sprawling racketeering case...

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.

Formatted Video Transcript (by ChatGPT): Hey guys, this is your girl Melanie, and I have breaking news in the YSL case. We know that Ashley Merchant, one of Trump's co-defendants' attorneys, had to go in and try to remedy the situation where this corrupt judge had that ex parte meeting. Brian Steele, the attorney for YSL, made his objections and was actually held in contempt of court and sentenced to jail—specifically, 20 days of jail time each week throughout the entire summer up until August. He even requested to do jail time with Young Thug. Ashley Merchant and about 60...

Police have announced the first arrest in the recent 'flash mob' robbery at a Los Angeles area mall where 30 thieves made off with $400,000 in YSL merchandise. Ivan Isaac Ramirez, 23, was apprehended Thursday for his alleged involvement in the massive theft of a YSL store at the Glendale Americana at Brand. Another suspect, Brianna Jimenez, 21, is still at large and is currently being sought by police. Her smirking photo was released by cops over the weekend. No other suspects' names have been released or arrests have been made. Videos posted online from the August 8 robbery showed...

Marilyn Manson is the latest musician tapped by mega fashion brand Saint Laurent to star in their newest ad. Creative Director Hedi Slimane chose Manson to star in the brand’s newest menswear campaign. Slimane seems to have an obsession with selecting edgy singers from the ‘90s to front his ads... The eerie ad is comprised of a close-up shot of Manson featuring the singer in thick eyeliner, black lipstick and a shiny leather jacket. Goth-grunge is hot right now... Although a bit surprising seeing Manson star in a fashion ad, his sinister look perfectly accentuates the French fashion line’s dark...

The outpouring of money triggered by the auction of the Yves Saint Laurent-Pierre Bergé sale continued unabated as Christie's sold Old Master paintings and drawings, went on to German silver gilt of the 16th and 17th centuries and ended the day with the biggest auction ever of Art Deco furniture and objets d'art that alone added up to €59.14 million, or $75.70 million. What gives the sessions on Tuesday their full significance is the diversity of the categories represented and the rising tide of enthusiasm that seemed to grow each time the spotlight switched to a new area. Even though...

PARIS: If proof was needed that huge amounts of cash are available for art, the sale of the Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé collection is it. In a historic auction that might yet prove to be a turning point for Paris on the international auction scene, Christie's has scored a triumph as it sold 59 Impressionist and Modern paintings, drawings and sculpture from the collection for €206.15 million, or $266.74 million. This exceeds the previous highest single-owner total at auction, achieved with the $207 million Paul Ganz sale in New York in November 1997. It will rise much higher...