Lil Durk has been accused of threatening witnesses in his murder-for-hire trial that’s scheduled to take place later this year.
Prosecutors claim that Durk has threatened witnesses as a reply to his current bid to dismiss the case altogether.
“[Lil Durk] is not on trial for his lyrics or his music; he is on trial because he directed, orchestrated, and financed the brazen murder plot at issue in this case,” said U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli in a legal filing, according to AllHipHop.
“The motion fails to cite any legitimate basis to dismiss the indictment or unseal grand jury transcripts, particularly in this murder case where witnesses and their family members have already been threatened,” he added.
Durk and his legal team had previously argued that prosecutors should dismiss the case because lyrics that they selected as evidence against him were recorded a few months before the shooting death of Rondo’s cousin, Savaiy’a Robinson.
Late last month, Durk’s family released a statement about the “false evidence” being used against him in court. “The recent developments in Durk’s legal case have brought a harsh truth to light: the government presented false evidence to a grand jury to indict him,” the statement reads. “This isn’t justice. That’s a violation of the very system that’s supposed to protect all of us.”
“Durk has always used music to tell stories, to express pain to heal—and yet those same lyrics are now being used against him,” the statement continues. “We refuse to stay silent as Black artists continue to be criminalized for their creativity. Rap is art.”
Durk also won’t be going home anytime soon now that his latest bond request has been denied. U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue shot down his bail request and pointed to a report that accused Durk of breaking phone rules while incarcerated. “It shows a disrespect for the rules, and that is precisely the court’s concern,” Donahue said.
