A Fulton County judge has declined to revoke Young Thug‘s probation after Atlanta prosecutors pushed for his imprisonment over a social media post the rapper made calling a government investigator “the biggest liar,” according to court documents filed on Thursday (April 3).
Though Judge Paige Reese Whitaker decided in the rapper’s favor, in a footnote to her decision, she added, “While the Court does not find that the cited social media post rises to the level of a violation of Defendant’s probation, it may be prudent for Defendant to exercise restraint regarding certain topics.”
Thug (real name Jeffery Lamar Williams) pleaded guilty last year on felony gang accusations stemming from his “YSL” group after being imprisoned for two years amid a prolonged legal process. He was ultimately sentenced to probation, avoiding the life sentence he would have faced if convicted following a trial.
The judge’s Thursday decision followed a flurry of activity in the case this week. On Wednesday (April 2), the Fulton County District Attorney’s office asked the judge to revoke Thug’s probation over his Tuesday (April 1) post on X (formerly Twitter) in which he shared an image of Marissa Viverito along with a caption calling her “the biggest liar in the DA’s office” (seemingly a reference to her testimony in an unrelated gang case). The DA’s office argued Thug had demonstrated “a blatant disregard for the law, the safety of witnesses, and the integrity of judicial proceedings” with the post, adding that it had been part of “a calculated campaign of intimidation” leading to posts by others that revealed Viverto’s home address and made death threats against District Attorney Fani Willis.
In a response filed on Thursday, Thug’s attorney Brian Steel argued that the rapper’s statement about Viverto did not violate the terms of his probation: “Mr. Williams can admit to all of the allegations alleged and still not have violated any term of his probationary sentence,” Steel wrote, adding that his client also could not be held responsible for the follow-up posts made by others.
Representatives for Thug and the DA’s office did not immediately respond to Billboard‘s requests for comment on the judge’s decision.
