Five months after Atlanta rapper Young Thug pleaded guilty in a lengthy gang trial, Fulton County’s district attorney is asking a judge to revoke the superstar’s probation.
In a motion filed Wednesday night, DA Fani Willis said the musician, whose real name is Jeffrey Williams, “engaged in conduct that directly threatens the safety of witnesses and prosecutors” by posting online a photo of one of the investigators in the “Young Slime Life” gang trial.
Willis’ office said gang investigator Marissa Viverito has been the subject of online threats after Williams reposted her photo on his X account along with the caption “biggest liar in the DA office.”
The post was viewed more than 2 million times, along thousands of comments that prosecutors allege included threats to Viverito and her family. The post no longer appears on Young Thug’s social media account, which has 6.6 million followers.
Viverito is currently testifying in a preliminary hearing for a separate gang and murder trial in which the judge explicitly ordered that the investigator not be shown while testifying. She was the final witness in the YSL trial, which centered on Williams and became the longest trial in Georgia history, and took the stand after the rapper pleaded guilty and received probation.
Prosecutors allege a blogger violated the court’s directive by posting a picture of Viverito on social media and that Williams amplified it to his audience, resulting in threats against both the investigator and Willis.
Williams’ attorney, Brian Steel, said Wednesday that his client — who won a Grammy Award in 2018 for his song “This is America” — did nothing wrong.
“Jeffrey has done nothing to violate any condition of probation,” Steel said. “It is rare that any threats of violence or violence itself is justified. No one should be threatening any witness at any time. Jeffery had nothing to do with any supposed threats.”
Steel said in a filing Thursday morning that revoking Williams’ probation over his criticism of an investigator would be unfair. Williams isn’t accused of doing anything illegal, even in Willis’ filing, Steel said.
In a post Wednesday night, Williams said he doesn’t make threats to people.
“I’m a good person,” he wrote on X. “I would never condone anyone threatening anyone or definitely participate in threatening anyone. I’m all about peace and love.”
According to prosecutors, Viverito’s home address and her parents’ home address were publicly posted by other accounts, with one post stating “If the hate is really real then pull up on her mama crib.” An additional post threatening Willis was made, prosecutors said.
“The escalation from targeting a testifying witness to making a direct death threat against the elected District Attorney of Fulton County is a grave and unprecedented attack on the justice system,” prosecutors said in the motion.
Prosecutors said this is not an isolated event, calling it “a calculated campaign of intimidation, harassment and misinformation designed to undermine the legal process.” They asked Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker to schedule a hearing on the matter.
On Halloween night, Whitaker sentenced Williams to time served and 15 years of probation after he pleaded no contest — meaning he did not admit to or deny — to one count each of conspiring to violate the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and participating in criminal street gang activity. The rapper also pleaded guilty to gang, gun and drug charges.
Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of 45 years, with 25 to serve in prison and another two decades on probation.
As part of the sentence, Williams was ordered to stay away from metro Atlanta for a decade. He is allowed to visit the area for family events, like weddings and funerals. In December, Williams asked Whitaker to reconsider his exile so he could stay in one of his Atlanta-area homes for the holidays. However, Whitaker quickly denied his request and ordered the rapper to remain in exile from metro Atlanta for at least three years.
Whitaker said Williams may return to Atlanta after those three years have passed on his probation if no violations have occurred during that time, but he can only visit that home located “a few miles to the most extreme border” of metro Atlanta for up to two weeks at a time and only up to four times per year starting Oct. 31, 2027. The rapper must notify his probation officer at least five days before going to the address.
In January, a request was made to allow the rapper to travel through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for the purpose of using the airport for commercial air travel for business and other lawful purposes, which Whitaker granted “solely for the stated purpose and only for the time necessary to effectuate that purpose.”
The rapper is currently based in Miami. He is slated to headline multiple music festivals, including the Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash in Chicago in June.
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