Prosecutors Believe Lil Durk Incriminated Himself During An Akademiks Interview
U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli filed a motion accusing the rapper of witness intimidation in connection to the murder-for-hire he's being charged with. AllHipHop reported that Essayli stated, '[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. 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.'
Prosecutors also believe that Durk's conversation with Akademiks hinted that he knew more about the murder-for-hire than he initially led on. When asking about fans' request for him to 'slide for [King] Von,' Durk responded, 'For some reason I just don't see them comments no more… for some odd reason… might be the water… we here though.'
This caused prosecutors to interpret the obscure comment as an admission of retaliation connected to the 2022 murder of Quando Rondo's cousin.
Durk had plead not guilty and remains in custody. His third attempt to be released on bail was rejected on Wednesday (May 21).
His next hearing is set for June 2, and then the court will either accept or deny his bond offer of $2.7 million in assets, around-the-clock private security, electronic monitoring, and full court supervision ahead of the federal trial.
Just last month, Durk's family issued a statement about the legal battle, describing it as a miscarriage of justice.
'The government presented false evidence to a grand jury to indict him. This isn't justice. That's a violation of the very system that's supposed to protect all of us,' they expressed. 'Durk has always used music to tell stories, to express pain, to heal—and yet those same lyrics are now being used against him. We refuse to stay silent as Black artists continue to be criminalized for their creativity. Rap is art.'
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