Grammy Award-winning rapper Young Thug was arrested on Monday and booked on gang-related charges into the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta.
Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, 30, was charged with one count of attempted murder and one count of participating in criminal street gang activity after authorities accused him of renting a car that was used to carry out a 2015 drive-by shooting that claimed the life of 26-year-old Donovan Thomas.
He was also charged with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
Video footage posted to TikTok and Twitter showed several police vehicles outside a home in the upmarket Atlanta suburb of Buckhead on Monday afternoon.
The man, believed to be the Williams, can be seen being led away by police with his hands bound by zip tie handcuffs.
The rapper was taken into custody by Atlanta police – although few details have been shared about the arrest. One photographer at the scene noted that 10 people were handcuffed and detained during the raid on Williams’ home.
Agents also tore Williams’ home apart, according to TMZ, breaking down walls and digging up his backyard.
Williams is accused of conspiring to associate with others for the common purposes of illegally obtaining money and property through a pattern of racketeering activity, according to the Fulton County District Attorney’s office.
A grand jury indictment identified him and 27 others as members of the same street gang.
The indictment runs a whopping 88 pages long, according to The New York Times.
It alleges Williams is a founder of a criminal gang that has been operating in Atlanta since 2012, known as Young Slime Life or YSL. Authorities said YSL is affiliated with the infamous Bloods, which operate across the country.
The indictment also alleges Williams and YSL member engaged in the activities including:
- Preserving, protecting and enhancing the reputation, power and territory of the enterprise through acts of racketeering activity including murder, assault and threats of violence;
- Preserving, protecting and enhancing the reputation, power and territory of the enterprise by the posting of messages, images, videos and songs, demonstrating allegiance to the enterprise and a willingness to engage in violence on its behalf;
- Maintaining armed individuals ready and willing to preserve, protect and enhance the reputation, power and territory of the enterprise through the use of violence;
- Obtaining money, weapons and other property through acts of racketeering activity, including robbery, theft and the unlawful sale and distribution of drugs;
- Obstructing law enforcement investigations and court proceedings through witness intimidation and attacks upon law enforcement officers.