Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville put the trial of Young Thug on an indefinite hold on Tuesday, after the rapper’s lawyers asked the judge to recuse himself regarding allegations of holding an “improper” secret meeting on June 10th with a key witness and prosecutors. The trial, concerning racketeering charges related to YSL Records, is officially the longest-running criminal trial in Georgia history, running for 18 months without any sign of conclusion.
The Washington Post describes the trial as “Atlanta’s favorite reality show.” Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has pursued the prosecution against Thug (real name Jeffrey Lamar Williams) and several other defendants, all of whom have sought mistrials. Thug is a Grammy Award-winning artist, but now stands accused of having his record label YSL double as a lethal organized crime group.
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The trial has resulted in one defendant being stabbed, a star witness being imprisoned for refusing testimony, and multiple screaming matches between the judge and the attorneys.
In June, Thug’s lead attorney Brian Steel was found in criminal contempt and sentenced to serve 20 days in prison. “This is crazy! This is like communist Russia!” Steel declared. He was later permitted to a bond in lieu of time served until his appeal is completed.
Judge Glanville is accused of having pressured witnesses into testifying against the defendants. The judge denied the motion for him to recuse himself. Then, on Monday, he said he would send the recusal motions to a different judge and promised to release the transcript from the secret meeting. Glanville said the trial will be on an indefinite hold until the other judge decides on whether he should stay in charge of the case.
Shane Devine is a writer covering politics and business for VT and a regular guest on The Unusual Suspects. Follow Shane’s work here.
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