Lil Durk Faces Witness Threat Claims in Murder-For-Hire Case
Prosecutors claim Lil Durk threatened witnesses in jail as he tries to beat murder-for-hire charges without lyrics as evidence.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 09: Lil Durk performs on the runway for PrettyLittleThing: Teyana Taylor Collection II New York Fashion Week on September 09, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Thomas Concordia/Getty Images for PrettyLittleThing )
Things just got even messier for Lil Durk. The Chicago rapper, known for his intense drill music, is facing serious trouble as he heads toward his murder-for-hire trial later this year. Now, prosecutors reportedly say he’s been threatening witnesses while locked up.
Durk had been hoping to get the whole case thrown out. Why? His team says prosecutors unfairly used his rap lyrics as evidence, even though the song they pointed to was made before the crime happened. That crime? The 2022 killing of Quando Rondo’s cousin.
But the government isn’t backing down. In response to Durk’s motion to dismiss, U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli hit back hard:
“[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,” Essayli said.
The song at the center of the drama, “Wonderful Wayne & Jackie Boy,” helped get Durk arrested—but a judge has since ruled that those lyrics won’t be allowed as evidence during the trial.
Still, Durk’s family isn’t staying quiet. On Instagram, they blasted the prosecutors for crossing a line:
“The recent developments in Durk’s legal case have brought a harsh truth to light: 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 also defended his right to use music as a form of expression:
“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.”
The family is now calling on fans to rally around the rapper as he awaits trial from behind bars:
“As a family, we are asking the public, the fans, and the culture to stand with us. Stand for truth. Stand for fairness. Stand for The Voice.”
Durk is still in custody and is expected back in court for another bond hearing next month.
