Why is Young Thug’s YSL RICO trial on pause? Explained

The highly anticipated trial of Young Thug and members of his record label, YSL, has been placed on hold, causing a stir among fans and legal pundits. Scheduled to commence this month, the trial has been temporarily paused as the defense has questioned the Judge's impartiality, as per the New York Times.

On July 1, 2024, in a Fulton County, Georgia courtroom, Judge Ural Glanville declared that the case would be on hold. This decision was made because another judge needed to determine whether Judge Glanville should continue overseeing the trial or step down.

As per XXL, the decision followed the claim by Thug's lawyer, Brian Steel, who stated that the Judge had "an unlawful, improper ex parte meeting" on June 10, 2024. As a result, Judge Glanville ruled on Monday, saying —

"This written order is entered, I will enter the order transferring it, and until such time those two things are decided then we will be in recess until that time," he said.

In May 2022, Atlanta rapper Young Thug and 27 other YSL members were arrested for violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

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Understanding YSL's Young Thug RICO trial and sudden pause

Young Thug (Image via Getty Images)

Earlier this week, after 100 days of the trial, the extensive and repeatedly delayed case against Atlanta rapper Young Thug and its members was halted indefinitely, as per the New York Times.

The cause for the halt stems from an earlier June meeting where Judge Glanville, prosecutors, and Kenneth Copeland, a crucial witness for the state, convened privately without any defense attorneys in attendance, reports the New York Times.

Brian Steel, Young Thug's attorney, made the allegations about the meeting. However, Steel refused to disclose the source of their meeting, which resulted in his incarceration, according to XXL.

"If that's true what this is is coercion, witness intimidation, ex parte communications that we have a constitutional right to be present for," Steel said in court.

Judge Glanville had earlier rejected several requests from the defense for his recusal. However, during a hearing on Monday regarding the release of the meeting's transcript, he conceded that an external judge should determine the future course of the trial, reports the New York Times.

In the Monday hearing, when a prosecutor inquired about the timeline for resuming the trial, Judge Glanville responded that the matter was now out of his hands —

"Hopefully it will get done fairly quickly," Judge said.

Moreover, on June 10, 2024, as per XXL, Judge Ural Glanville briefly sent Steel to jail. He was ordered to spend 20 days on the 10 weekends in the Fulton County Jail in Georgia to fulfill his sentence. Shortly after that, the Georgia Supreme Court decided to grant Steel a bond on June 13, 2024.

In early May 2022, Young Thug and other YSL members were arrested under RICO charges. Moreover, on May 11, 2022, Thug's house was raided at the time of his arrest. As per Billboard, the authorities' reported recovery of drugs and weapons led to seven more felony charges being added, such as possession of illegal firearms and possession of drugs with intent to distribute.

One month after his arrest, Young Thug got a bond, but his bail was denied. According to Billboard, prosecutors described Thug as the "most dangerous" member of the alleged gang, YSL.

Moreover, in August 2023, Young Thug encountered six more felony charges originating from a raid on his Buckhead home in May 2022 during his arrest.

On June 23, 2023, Thug released his album Business Is Business, marking his first release from prison. Moreover, the 17 sets of lyrics from the track were presented as evidence against Young Thug and his YSL co-defendants in the case, as the First Amendment did not protect them.

"They're not prosecuting your clients because of the songs they wrote. They're using the songs to prove other things your clients may have been involved in. I don't think it's an attack on free speech," Glanville said.

According to the New York Times, Jurors have been without testimony in the case for two weeks due to the disruptions and were not scheduled to return until the Monday after the July 4 holiday weekend.