Judge rejects bid to jail Young Thug over viral post that sparked uproar

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Ajudge in Atlanta has rejected prosecutors’ request to revoke Young Thug’s probation and send him to prison. However, the judge cautioned the rapper about his social media activity after a viral post triggered backlash against the district attorney’s office.

The 33-year-old rapper, who pleaded guilty in October to gang, drug, and gun charges, had been released from jail. In a court filing Wednesday, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis argued that Young Thug’s online actions “directly threaten the safety of witnesses and prosecutors, compromise ongoing legal proceedings, and warrant immediate revocation of probation.”

Despite this, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker ruled Thursday against revoking 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 wrote in a footnote to her order.

Prosecutors alleged that Young Thug reposted an image of a district attorney’s office investigator with a caption calling her “the biggest liar in the DA’s office.” The post went viral, garnering over 2 million views and sparking thousands of comments and shares.

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According to the filing, the investigator’s home address and that of her parents were later posted online, leading to threats against her and her family—including one post that explicitly threatened Willis’ assassination.

Young Thug denied any malicious intent.

“I don’t make threats to people. I’m a good person,” he wrote Wednesday on X. “I would never condone or participate in threatening anyone. I’m all about peace and love.”

His attorney, Brian Steel, dismissed the prosecution’s claims as misleading, asserting that Young Thug had not violated his probation.

Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, was indicted in May 2022 alongside more than two dozen others for alleged violations of Georgia’s anti-racketeering law. The indictment accused him of cofounding a violent street gang linked to murders, shootings, and carjackings, with the gang’s activities allegedly promoted through music and social media.

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