Hernandez Govan’s attorney challenged the federal government’s decision to arrest his client hours after he was released in state court.
Hernandez-Govan was acquitted on murder charges last August, but within days of his release, federal authorities moved quickly to retarget him with cyberstalking charges.
His lawyers called the timing “highly suspicious” and said the facts painted a picture of a system incapable of accepting the jury’s verdict.
Govan was arrested June 11 on state stalking and harassment charges, which are misdemeanors in Tennessee, and was released the next day on $4,000 bail.
Twelve hours after his release, federal agents arrested him on the same charges and sentenced him to five years in federal prison. This is not how the federal government typically operates.
Attorney Claiborne Ferguson told Action News 5: “I find it very suspicious that the federal government filed a complaint the day he was released on bail in state court. The federal government almost never files a complaint, they go straight to prosecution. That’s very unusual, especially when something that would be charged in state court and charged as a misdemeanor really needs to be done.”
The federal indictment alleges that he threatened to blow up his ex-girlfriend’s home over a $540 debt and texted her that he didn’t care about police or the National Guard protecting her house.
He also threatened to post explicit photos of her on social media while claiming he was “more powerful than the devil.”
A federal magistrate judge determined that Govan posed a danger to the alleged victims and ordered Govan held without bail. But the real context here is what happened before.
Govan was accused of being the mastermind behind the murder of Jan Dorf. The rap star was shot to death on November 17, 2021, at Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies on Aviation Boulevard in Memphis.
Prosecutors allege that Govan hired shooters Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith at the behest of Yo Gotti’s brother, Big Jock, who allegedly had a bounty on Young Dorf.
Young Dolph was hit at least 24 times and suffered wounds to his back, jaw, neck and both arms. Last August, a jury deliberated for just three hours before acquitting Govan.
Johnson was sentenced to life in prison and Smith was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty.
