YouTube attorney Nick Rekieta pleads guilty in drug case
The Brief
Minnesota attorney and YouTube personality Nick Rekieta pleaded guilty to third-degree drug possession on Friday.
As part of the deal, charges against his wife and a friend would be dropped, along with two other counts against Rekieta.
Under the deal, the case against Rekieta could be dismissed entirely, if he stays out of trouble.
(FOX 9) - YouTube attorney Nick Rekieta entered a guilty plea on Friday as he faced drug charges after his western Minnesota home was raided by authorities last year.
What we know
Rekieta entered a guilty plea to third-degree drug possession on Friday. As part of the plea, the other two counts against Rekieta are being dropped along with the charges against his wife Kayla and friend April Imholte.
All three were all arrested in May 2024. Rekieta and his wife faced charges of drug possession, child endangerment, and a weapons charge.
Under the deal, Rekieta also gets a stay of adjudication – meaning if he stays out of trouble, the case will be dismissed entirely.
The charges against Rekieta alleged investigators found drug paraphernalia, including three small baggies that tested positive for cocaine, eight green tablets that tested positive for Ketamine, and a digital scale, and several other items that tested positive for cocaine inside the Rekieta home.
Big picture view
Rekieta, a Minnesota attorney based in Spicer, has more than 427,000 subscribers with more than 124 million total views on YouTube. Rekieta drove his viewership during the high profile trial of Johnny Depp versus Amber Heard in 2022 and the Kyle Rittenhouse trial in Wisconsin back in 2021.
In recent months, however, Rekieta has apparently pulled back from online content. On Wednesday, two days before his plea hearing, Rekieta went live on his YouTube and Rumble channels for the first time in months.
During that stream, Rekieta referenced his hearing on Friday, but opted not to discuss details.
What they're saying
Appearing on another YouTuber's channel, Rekieta admitted to using cocaine and making mistakes.
"I made a s--tload of really bad decisions," Rekieta explained. "They hurt people I really cared about… I have to deal with for the rest of my life, that I harmed some of the people who are closest to me. That's a product of me and losing control."
Rekieta also says he's no longer using cocaine.
The backstory
Briefs filed by the defense in Kayla Rekieta's case back in December allege that the case emerged from church rumors about the Rekietas.
According to the brief, the rumors included "concerns" about child neglect, drug use by the Rekietas, and "a questionable relationship with an additional couple, Aaron and April Imholte."
As noted above, April Imholte was also facing charges related to last year's raid on Rekieta's home. As for Aaron Imholte, you may remember FOX 9 reported back in September that he had been charged with disseminating private sexual images without consent for sharing a nude photo of a woman.
Imholte's case is set to go to trial in May.
What's next
The cases against Kayla Rekieta and April Imholte have not yet been officially dismissed. The case against Aaron Imholte is still pending.
It's unclear what punishment, if any, Nick Rekieta may face from the Minnesota Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility. Rekieta is currently not authorized to practice law, according to state records.
During his livestream this week, Rekieta explained he is currently unable to practice because he is behind on his continuing legal education requirements. With the case settled, Rekieta said he should be able to fulfill those requirements without issue before adding "then they'll probably disbar me for something else."
Rekieta is set to be sentenced in April.
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