On Monday (June 10), a Georgia judge held Young Thug’s lawyer Brian Steel in contempt of court in the YSL RICO trial. Steele expressed concern about private conversations between the judge, prosecutors and witness Kenneth “Lilwoody” Copeland. Steele was detained for refusing to disclose the source of the information.
“You were given information that you shouldn’t have been given,” Judge Ural Glanville told Steele.
Copeland spent the weekend in jail after refusing to testify at Young Thug’s trial on Friday (June 7). Prosecutors took him back to the witness stand Monday. He remains a reluctant witness.
The trial took a dramatic turn after a lunch break without the jury present. Steele said he learned prosecutors met with Copeland in the judge’s office without the defense’s knowledge. According to Steel, Copeland allegedly admitted that he killed Donovan “Nut” Thomas during the meeting, a key incident in the YSL RICO case.
“What about the witnesses, how about Mr. Copeland, who reportedly announced that he would not testify, that he would sit for two years, and this honorable court – or let me rephrase it – this court said I can detain you until this final trial. …if true, what is this─it is coercion [and] The witness hinted,” Steele told the judge.
Judge Granville was furious. He demanded to know how Steele learned about what happened at the meeting. Steele rejected multiple requests from the judge and requested a mistrial.
Steel was held in Notion and escorted out of the courthouse. Another of Young Thug’s attorneys, Keith Adams, objected to the trial continuing without Steele. Judge Glanville worked hard to move the proceedings forward.
“You can’t blackmail the court,” Judge Granville declared. “That does not work.”
The court conflict comes just months after the RICO trial and shows no sign of ending. Young Thug’s trial is already the longest in Georgia history. It started in November 2023.
