Young Thug's RICO Trial Now Involves A Goat Sacrificing Ritual Which is Pretty Weird IMO
Young Thug's attorney has filed a motion to supress evidence in the Atlanta rapper's RICO trial.
WSB-TV reports Thug's attorney Brian Steel is asking the court to exclude evidence related to YSL co-defendant Shannon "SB" Stillwell's arrest on murder charges last year.
On March 17, 2022, Stillwell was arrested at his East Point, Georgia home "while in the midst of a religious ceremony which involved the supposed sacrifice of goats."
"Worshippers wear all-white and sacrifice goats in an effort to bring forth loa, which help to run the universe and can grant blessings," WSB-TV reporter Michael Seiden said of the rituals.
This case is wild as hell. If you arent familiar with why Young Thug is charged under the RICO act, here's a little explainer that NPR did before the trial was supposed to start in January of this year.
Jeffery Lamar Williams, professionally known as Young Thug, is set to go to trial on Monday. The 31-year-old Atlanta rapper, along with fellow rapper Sergio Kitchens, known professionally as Gunna, and dozens of others, stand accused of helping found a violent street gang, known as Young Slime Life, or YSL.
In May, authorities arrested and charged Williams with conspiracy to violate Georgia's RICO Act and participating in a criminal street gang. The 88-page indictment, filed in Fulton County, Georgia, includes references to lyrics found in Williams' music. The indictment also includes a list of 181 acts, dating back to 2013.
The high-profile arrest of Williams, who now is facing eight separate charges, is part of a growing trend of criminalizing hip hop artists under RICO acts, a measure intended to stop organized crime, like the mafia. Under these laws, the authorities are able to accuse multiple people in someone's circle, from a rapper, to their entourage, and other members of their crew, of gang-related activity if at least one person is connected to criminal activity.
Now, I'm no lawyer but I do like Young Thug's music so I did some light reading and googling about Rico cases. RICO cases have a broad scope and can be used for all kinds of criminal activities and organizations. It allows prosecutors to charge individuals involved in a pattern of racketeering activity, which includes offenses such as fraud, extortion, bribery, money laundering, drug trafficking, and in the case of Young Thug, murder. Multiple murders.
The government can use every investigation tactic those big-brained prosecutors have, including wiretapping, surveillance, and informant testimony. Snitches smh. In a RICO case, individuals can be held accountable for the shit other people due even if they did not directly commit crime themselves which increases the chances of getting convictions.
So, Young Thug is basically fucked but not as fucked as the goats who were sacrificed. Old Testament shit notwithstanding, I'm not a huge animal sacrifice fan. In my opinion, and it's something I've thought about for a long time, I'm not into animal sacrifices. I know some say that makes me a woke pussy, but I dont care. Dont sacrifice animals if you want to be friends with me. If you're already friends with me and you start sacrificing animals, I will give you a stern warning at first and then we are doneso. If you know anyone currently sacrificing animals, email Captain Cons at Cons@barstoolsports to tell him. He's also keeping a list of folks who arent sacrificing animals, so if you wanna let the world know that you arent an animal sacrificer, hit him up. It's important that you do so before the list is published, that's all I'll say about that.
PS: is Young Thug gonna be the first person convicted of murder who also did a Tiny Desk concert? Gotta be.