The courtroom drama intensified in the Young Thug/YSL trial as attorney Brian Steel, defending the Atlanta rapper, compared the proceedings to "communist Russia,". Steel's outburst came amid his claims that witness Kenneth "Lil Woody" Copeland is under undue influence by the prosecution, as the latter was frequently seen being escorted by law enforcement and district attorney's office members, which Steel suggested could be grounds for coercion or intimidation, "Every time Mr. Copeland comes in the courtroom or out of court, he's escorted by a DA's office investigator," Steel told the judge, according to a report by FOX5 Atlanta.
In the midst of the trial's Day 91, Copeland, who is a significant witness in the case, offered conflicting testimony and repeatedly stated "I don't recall" or "I don't remember," adding to the prosecution's frustration, at one point during questioning, he admitted, "I was not truthful, I was saying whatever they wanted me to say....I was trying my best to convince them that I didn't do nothing.....I know I wasn't being truthful," which complicates the case that involves Young Thug being accused of renting the car used in the murder of Donovan "Big Nutt" Thomas in 2015. In an intriguing twist of events, Steel himself was temporarily jailed after he refused to disclose the source who informed him about a private discussion in the courtroom but was later granted an emergency motion for bond by the Georgia Supreme Court, this all unfolded as reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The accusations against Young Thug are of a grave nature, with the second indictment by a Fulton County grand jury laying out charges of conspiring to violate the RICO Act, partaking in criminal street gang activity, and multiple drug and gun charges, the rapper and his alleged associates are accused of founding and promoting a violent criminal group, Young Slime Life (YSL), connected to the national Bloods gang. The list of 191 related criminal acts cited by the prosecution range from 2013 to 2022 with the aim to propel the gang's interests further.
The trial, which has turned into a protracted legal battle, still features defendants Marquavius Huey, Deamonte Kendrick, Quamarvious Nichols, Rodalius Ryan, and Shannon Stillwell alongside Young Thug, while several others have entered guilty pleas, including prominent names such as rapper Gunna. The complexity of the case was further highlighted when Weinstein, an attorney representing defendant Deamonte Kendrick, requested Judge Ural Glanville's recusal from the trial, alleging that during a closed-door meeting Glanville had acted in a manner tantamount to intimidation which led to Copeland's eventual cooperation as a witness, claims that Glanville quickly denied, stating, "I'd be real careful about what you're pleading at this point in time and what you're stating to the court. I would be very careful if I were you."
