Judge declines prosecutors’ request to send Young Thug back to prison
Young Thug was facing the possibility of returning to prison, but a judge has declined the request from prosecutors. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis claimed Thug (real name Jeffery Williams) “engaged in conduct that directly threatens the safety of witnesses and prosecutors, compromises ongoing legal proceedings, and warrants immediate revocation of probation.”
However, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Whitaker reviewed the filing and Thug’s attorney’s response and concluded that she would not revoke his probation.
“While the Court does not find that the cited social media post rises to the level of a violation of Defendant’s probation, it may be prudent for Defendant to exercise restraint regarding certain topics,” Whitaker added in a footnote to her order, according to Associated Press.
Thug recently took to X to share a photo of district attorney’s office investigator, Marissa Viverito, with the caption, “The biggest liar in the DA’s office.” Willis said the post “quickly went viral, amassing over two million views, with thousands of comments and retweets,” with Viverito receiving death threats and having her address leaked online.
Thug’s lawyer, Brian Steel, said in a statement, “The prosecution’s motion to revoke Mr Williams’ probation fails, on its face, to allege any conduct by Mr Williams that would rise to a violation of the probationary sentence. There is no violation of Mr Williams’ probation by reposting an image on social media and opining that Investigator Viverito is untruthful.”
The Atlanta rapper denied making threats, writing on X, “I don’t make [threats] to people I’m a good person. I would never condone anyone threatening anyone or definitely participate in threatening anyone. I’m all about peace and love.”
Whitaker sentenced Thug to 40 years following the YSL RICO trial, commuting the first five years to time served. In addition, he was given 15 years of probation and commuted a “backloaded” 20 years in prison to time served if he complied with the probation conditions.