Someone managed to snap a picture of Lil Durk’s co-defendants in court and upset the government, which is prosecuting the murder-for-hire case.
In a legal memorandum filed earlier this week and obtained by Complex, U.S. attorneys argued that a courtroom picture someone managed to snap of Durk’s co-defendants, OTF Boogie and OTF Dede, is further proof that the case needs an anonymous jury — something prosecutors have been fighting for but Durk and the other defendants are against. Electronics are not permitted, with rare exceptions, inside of federal courthouses, and taking photos during court proceedings is prohibited.
The picture of Durk’s co-defendants made it to Instagram, Reddit, and Facebook — and now prosecutors are pissed.
“This blatant violation of the federal rules, and the following widespread dissemination of the photograph, underscores that an anonymous jury is only one of the security measures this Court should employ to prevent improper attempts to intimidate and/or influence jurors, ensure a fair trial for all parties, and protect the judicial process,” reads the document.
Federal prosecutors have been eager to get an anonymous jury in Durk’s case, citing threats, national attention, and the violent reputation of the rapper’s alleged criminal enterprise.
Meanwhile, Durk’s team has been staunchly against the idea of an anonymous jury, alleging that the request would hinder their ability to conduct proper jury selection.
This setback for Durk comes nearly a week after he demanded that his judge and prosecutor to be removed from his case for hiding threats.
The rapper and his legal team accused federal prosecutors of burying important information and hiding violent threats that were aimed at the court and prosecutor for multiple months.
According to Durk’s lawyers, prosecutors hid four graphic voicemails left for Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue in February, in which the caller threatened to kill the judge and burn the world down if the rapper was found guilty.
Durk’s team also claimed that the prosecutors allegedly kept quiet about an April call in which the caller threatened to murder prosecutor Ian Yanniello.