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The hotly-anticipated trial of the rapper Young Thug is underway in a courtroom in Atlanta, Georgia, following almost a year of delays.
In May 2022, Young Thug, real name Jeffery Williams, was arrested and charged in a sprawling RICO indictment along with 27 other defendants.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis – who is using the same law to prosecute Donald Trump in his Georgia election interference case – accused the suspects of being part of a criminal street gang named YSL.
According to prosecutors, the gang is responsible for a series of violent crimes, including murders, shootings, carjackings and racketeering.
Young Thug has denied the accusations and insisted that YSL is simply Young Thug’s record label – Young Slime Life.
After several defendants took plea deals or had their cases severed, the Grammy Award-winning rapper and five others are finally on trial.
The trial got off to a rocky start on Monday with a late juror delaying the trial start by an hour and a half followed by the defence filing a motion for a mistrial; the bid was denied. After two days of opening statements, the prosecution is expected to present evidence on Wednesday.
