Young Thug’s RICO Trial Begins
Everyone has been wondering what will happen in Young Thug’s impending court case over the last few weeks. The rapper, whose legal name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, is 31 years old, and his fellow cohort, Sergio Kitchens, better known as Gunna, among others, are accused of being members of a violent criminal organization, Young Slime Life (YSL).
Young Thug, who was the winner of a Grammy for being a co-writer for the song “This is America” with Childish Gambino in 2019, will see his trial begin on Monday, according to reports.
NPR reported that Williams was arrested and charged on May 11, 2022. The authorities accused the American rapper of conspiring to violate the state of Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act while being a part of a gang. An indictment of 88 pages was arranged against the accused in the county of Fulton that had quotes of Young Thug’s lyrics being made reference to, as well as a list of acts done dating as far back as 2013.
Despite Representative Hank Johnson introducing a bill in the House to protect artistes from having the lyrics of their songs used against them, which was influenced by Williams’ trial, Williams’ high-profile arrest is part of a growing trend to criminalize hip-hop artistes under the Rico Act.
This comes in light of an attempt to cut and eventually stop organized crime. With that said, if a person is linked to criminal activity, law enforcement officers are given the green light to accuse multiple people in that person’s circle so that convictions can be obtained before the gangs have a chance to fully blossom.
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Jury selection for the trial began in the past week, but William pleaded not guilty to all eight counts after the other counts were thrown out. On the list of witnesses, top artistes such as Lil Wayne and Birdman were put on the radar to be called as witnesses in the case. Young Thug’s attorney said in a statement that his client did not commit the crimes he is being accused of and that they are working assiduously to ensure that he is not wrongfully convicted.
