Prosecutors Cite Unabomber Manifesto In Young Thug RICO Trial
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Update: 9:51 a.m. PT (Nov. 9, 2023) – A judge has decided Young Thug’s lyrics admissible as evidence in the rapper’s RICO trial. According to WSBTV, Judge Ural Glanville announced his ruling on Thursday, confirming 17 sets of rap lyrics that prosecutors can introduce as evidence under the condition that they lay a foundation to use them.
Original story below…
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As Young Thug’s trial is set to begin, the judge has yet to decide on whether or not his lyrical content can be used as evidence. The Atlanta prosecution, pushing for the use of the rapper’s music in court against him, have now used the Unabomber’s manifesto in their explanation.
According to Billboard, the Fulton County District Attorney’s office claimed if the aforementioned proclamation were “set to music” it would still be admissible. The 32-year-old, legal name Jeffery Williams, has remained behind bars since his May 2022 arrest.
In a court filing last week, the DA’s office detailed “Gang lyric evidence pertaining to the predicate offenses, YSL, its rivals, expectations, and behaviors are all highly pertinent to the defendants’ states of mind and intent in this case.”
The motion continued “Taken to its logical outcome, the defense would seem to opine that if the Unabomber’s manifesto had been set to music, it could not be used against him in any court,” adding, “According to the defense’s argument, had the Turner Diaries been read with background music, it could not have been introduced against Timothy McVeigh.”
Young Thug’s legal team stands its ground, saying the music should be off-limits at the upcoming trial citing First Amendment rights. Rappers T.I., Trae Tha Truth, and Killer Mike have been included in the defense’s witness list, as well as his ex-girlfriend Jerrika Karlae, 300 Ent. CEO Kevin Liles, Global Head of Music for YouTube, Lyor Cohen, and Atlantic Record’s Julie Greenwald.
In June 2022 following the arrests of Young Thug and indictments of multiple Young Stoner Life Records (YSL) artists and affiliates, Liles and Greenwald launched the “Rap Music on Trial” petition to advocate against the use of rap lyrics in artist criminal cases, specifically echoing the idea that YSL Records is being characterized as “a gang” and how the prosecutors’ evidence is “heavily relying on the artists’ lyrics” as “overt evidence of conspiracy.”
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the “Digits” performer and his five remaining codefendants will begin trial proceedings in the coming weeks, with opening statements scheduled for Nov. 27.
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