Young Thug's attorney Brian Steel wins jail time appeal for contempt of court: Reports
An attorney representing Young Thug in the rapper's ongoing RICO trial has reportedly found himself embroiled in his own legal troubles.
Attorney Brian Steel was taken into custody on Monday for alleged contempt of court where he was ordered to serve a 20-day sentence over 10 weekends, according to WSB-TV, Fox 5 and The Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
Steel was apprehended by courtroom deputies after the lawyer refused to disclose to Judge Ural Glanville how he learned of a private meeting between the judge and prosecutors in the case. "You got some information you shouldn’t have gotten," Glanville told Steel, per The Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
The Georgia Supreme Court granted an emergency motion for bond filed by Steel on Wednesday, per The Atlanta-Journal Constitution and The Washington Post. The appeal means he will no longer have to report to jail on Friday.
"We are thrilled that Brian will be home with his family for Father’s Day this weekend," Ashleigh Merchant, an attorney for Steel, told The Atlanta-Journal Constitution. "We appreciate how quickly and thoughtfully our appellate courts handled this unfortunate situation."
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for The Steel Law Firm and Young Thug for comment.
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Following Judge Glanville's order on Monday, court footage provided by Fox 5 and WSB-TV shows Steel removing articles of clothing – such as his suit jacket and tie – as the attorney is taken into custody.
Before leaving the courtroom, Steel told Glanville that Young Thug did not want to continue the trial without his presence. "You are removing me against his will, my will, and you’re taking away his right to counsel," he said to the judge.
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Young Thug faces a racketeering trial in Atlanta after the rapper was accused of co-founding a violent criminal street gang and using his music to promote it. Court proceedings resumed in January following a delay in December 2023. The YSL rapper, whose real name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, has been charged with violating Georgia's anti-racketeering and gang laws, among other alleged offenses.
A Fulton County grand jury indicted Young Thug in May 2022. A second indictment in August 2022 accuses Young Thug and 27 other people of conspiring to violate Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO. The indictments contain 65 counts of felony charges, six of which apply to Young Thug.
Judge in Young Thug trial continues proceedings after Brian Steel arrest
The dispute that reportedly led to Steel's arrest on Monday occurred when the attorney approached Judge Glanville about a conversation between Glanville and prosecutors regarding witness Kenneth Copeland, according to Fox 5 and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Steel said he learned that prosecutor Simone Hylton told Copeland he could be held in custody until all defendants have their cases disposed of. "If that's true, what this is is coercion, witness intimidation, ex parte communications that we have a constitutional right to be present for," he told the judge, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Steel's revelation led to a tense back-and-forth between the attorney and judge.
"I still want to know, how did you come upon this information. Who told you?" Glanville asked, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, to which Steel replied, "What I want to know is why wasn't I there."
Following his order to have Steel removed for contempt of court, Glanville remained adamant in continuing the trial, despite the protest of Young Thug's other attorney Keith Adams. "I’m not halting nothing," Glanville said, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Glanville added that the information leak from the prosecutors' meeting was "a violation of the sacrosanctness of the judge’s chambers."
Contributing: Naledi Ushe, Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY staff and wire reports
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Young Thug's lawyer Brian Steel wins jail time appeal after arrest