Young Thug's lawyer sentenced to 20 days in prison

Brian Steel was charged with contempt after refusing to reveal how he learned of a private meeting held between the judge, prosecutors and one of the prosecution's witnesses.

Brian Steel, an attorney representing Young Thug in his Georgia RICO trial, was taken into custody and sentenced to 20 days in jail after refusing to reveal how he learned of a private meeting between the judge, prosecutors and one of the State's witnesses, according to Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Judge Ural Glanville, who is presiding over the trial, called Steel in contempt after the lawyer repeatedly refused to say how he learned of the meeting. Steel was subsequently sentenced to 20 days in Cobb County Jail, which he will serve over the next 10 weekends. Steel asked him to share a cell with Young Thug so they could work on the case together, a request approved by Judge Glanville.

The witness, Kenneth Copeland, had already spent the weekend in jail after refusing to testify despite an immunity deal contingent on his testimony. On Monday, Copeland agreed to testify after meeting with the judge and prosecutors behind closed doors.

After learning of the meeting, Steel confronted Judge Glanville, alleging that Copeland had been coerced and threatened with additional prison time during the meeting, and requested a mistrial. “What I want to know is why I wasn’t there,” Steel asked the judge.

Justice Glanville called the disclosure of the meeting “such a violation of the sacrosanct nature of the judge’s chambers.”

Young Thug was arrested and charged in May 2022 in a broad 56-count criminal indictment related to gang activity, and has remained in custody since then. His trial officially began in November 2023 and is expected to conclude in early 2025, with the prosecution intending to call more than 200 witnesses.

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Judge Ural Granville and Young Thug's attorney, Brian Steel.#YoungThug #RICOTrial #Law pic.twitter.com/AoTASWSRFN

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