Rapper Young Thug Hit With New Charges In Georgia RICO Gang Case

Young Thug and four others have been hit with more indictments over alleged involvement in YSL or the Young Slime Life street gang. He was first arrested in Atlanta back in May of this year, but findings from his residence reportedly led to a re-indictment of additional charges like participation in gang activity and possession of a machine gun.

Young Thug, aka Jeffrey Williams, is accused of being a founding member of the criminal gang in violation of Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which has allowed the state to pursue 56 charges against 28 suspected members in its initial indictment. It has been indicated that the new charges against Williams, which reportedly total around nine, have been added to the bigger RICO case, bringing the total charges up to 65 now.

The text of the indictment read that YSL has allegedly been in operation since late 2012 and claimed that Williams gradually popularized the gang’s name with mentions in his songs and online posts. It was also claimed that they are affiliated with the Bloods gang, a well-known gang founded in L.A. that’s been in operation since the early 70s.

“The defendants conspired to associate together and with others for the common purposes of illegally obtaining money and property through a pattern of racketeering activity and conducting and participating in the enterprise,” the documents read in part. They then included a list of criminal complaints dating back to 2013 which they claimed helped further the gang’s profile and racketeering conspiracy, and also included several instances of social media posts with the defendants grouped together wearing YSL-associated colors or using particular hand signs.

The rapper has maintained his innocence, and most recently his attorney Brian Steel said Williams “has committed no crime whatsoever. I look forward to the commencement of the jury trial.”