Annie Walton
Things are not looking good for the rapper Young Thug.
He's currently on trial for a number of criminal charges, and now fans are tearing down his lawyer's defense.
The rapper's RICO trial, which started on Monday, could become one of the longest trials in Georgia state history.
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The 32-year-old rapper Jeffery Lamar Williams - aka Young Thug - is accused of being a member of the gang 'Young Slime Life'.
In fact, the prosecution alleges Williams is one of the founders of a criminal street gang better known as YSL, and that he and others have committed numerous crimes to further the gang’s interests.
This gang is accused of conspiracy to violate the state's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
Williams was at the height of his musical career before his arrest back in 2022.
YSL allegedy had ties with the national and notorious Bloods gang, and participated in murders, shootings, carjackings, and thefts.
If found guilty under the RICO Act, Williams faces a maximum sentence of 120 years in prison.
Hulu documentary Rap Trap: Hip Hop on Trial covers the ongoing case.
Its official synopsis reads: “The Atlanta case against Young Thug (Jeffery Williams) and Gunna (Sergio Kitchens) stunned the hip hop world and reignited a national conversation around the use of song lyrics as evidence in criminal cases.
"For some, the lyrics are evidence of wrongdoing.
"But for others, this case spotlights a disturbing trend of criminalizing Black art that goes back decades.”
Amidst all of this drama, Young Thug’s attorney Brian Steel has been brought into the spotlight.
His defence of his famous client has been attracting attention for all the wrong reasons.
According to Billboard, Steel said, “(Young Thug) doesn’t even know most of the people in this indictment.
"He’s not sitting there telling people to kill people.
"He doesn’t need their money.
"Jeffery is worth tens of millions of dollars.”
Steel continued: “He is not running this criminal street gang in Cleveland Avenue area of ‘Bleveland,’ to gain property, money or power.
"Jeffery Williams did it on will and hard work and determination without anybody’s help except for the people from that area who he will not turn his back on”
He also claimed Williams' moniker 'Thug' stood for “Truly Humble Under God."
People on Twitter have been left baffled by this bizarre defense.
"Young Thug will remain in jail for sure because no way the judge is buying this," one laughed.
"Man I respect lawyers because Young Thug lawyer looked at the judge straight in the eye & said 'Thug' means 'Truly Humble Under God'. Can't make this s*** up," joked another.
A third penned: "gotta start making up acronyms like Young Thug’s lawyer, PIMP stands for Praying Is My Personality."