The RICO trial against Young Thug and YSL Records hasn’t even begun yet, and it’s already marked by a ton of drama. While Young Thug’s codefendants Gunna and Walter Murphy were both released after pleading guilty to one count each of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act in exchange for reduced sentences (four years suspended and one year reduced to time served). And now, during a pre-trial court hearing for Thug, an enthusiastic fan broke into the trial via Zoom to call for Thug’s freedom with some inappropriate content of his own.
According to The Atlanta Journal Constitution, a Zoom call set up to allow attorneys to attend remotely was hijacked by a naked man with a message reading “Free Young Thug.” Deputies were forced to scramble to turn off screens. Eventually, it was determined that one of the legitimate attendees was screen-sharing at the time.
As anyone who had to attend a Zoom meeting during the pandemic lockdowns can attest, Zoom break-ins can be pretty common. Heck, I recently had to boot a Zoom invader from a meeting myself and always set interview calls to require a password. If anything, though, the incident shows how impassioned people are about the potential outcome of the upcoming trial (which Murphy’s lawyer is convinced was entirely set up to catch Thug over any of his alleged conspirators). Thug’s been charged with a slew of offenses and could end up in prison for a very long time, so expect scrutiny to remain intense as the trial gets underway in January.