Young Thug Update: Lawyers And Judge Meet Ahead Of Mistrial Decision

Prosecutors and defense attorneys in the trial of rapper Young Thug met with the judge for a closed-door proceeding on Monday as she considers a mistrial motion.
Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, and several co-defendants are facing charges related to racketeering conspiracy and participation in criminal street gang activity, along with drug and gun violations.
The trial started in January of 2023 with jury selection, which took nearly 10 months to complete.
The decision could bring an end to a trial that has been filled with dramatic moments and scandals, from arrests in the courtroom to allegations of secret meetings.
Media and the public were not allowed inside of the courtroom on Monday, but multiple attorneys and prosecutors were seen entering the room, according to 11 Alive. Proceedings are expected to reopen to the public on Tuesday.
The trial was paused on Wednesday after a witness read an unredacted exhibit in front of jurors and the defense filed a motion for a mistrial.
Rapper Slimelife Shawty, whose real name is Wunnie Lee, was asked to identify individuals involved in the case through social media posts during his testimony. Lee was charged in the initial indictment, but he took a plea deal in 2022.
Lee was asked to read the caption of a social media post, but he accidentally read an unredacted paper version instead of the redacted version displayed on a monitor.
The unredacted caption featured the hashtag “Free Qua.” The defense said the jury was not supposed to know which defendants had previously been in jail.
“It is painfully obvious that the state is not prepping their witnesses,” Bruce Harvey, an attorney for defendant Quamarvious Nichols, said on Wednesday.
Five individuals, including Nichols, are on trial with Williams.
“Now the jury has repeatedly heard about Mr. Nichols being in jail, being in prison, and we cannot unring that bell, so we will ask for a mistrial,” Nicole Westmoreland, another attorney for Nichols, said.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker dismissed the witness and jury, then called out prosecutors for the mishap.
“What I’m trying to do is fix your sloppiness so everyone would not have wasted 12 months of their lives in this trial,” Whitaker said.
Whitaker declined to grant a mistrial with prejudice, but she did not rule out the possibility of a mistrial without prejudice. The ruling would bring an end to the trial, but the state could retry it.
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