Young Thug’s Lawyer Reveals They Turned Down Plea Offer That Would’ve Sent Him Home Today

Young Thug just took a plea deal in his YSL RICO case on Thursday afternoon (October 31), pleading guilty for all charges except the RICO count and the gang leader count, for which he pleaded no contest. Basically, he neither denies nor admits the charges, but agreed to accept them, their sentence, and the fine. While writing this article, the State and the defense are making their cases for their desired sentence, which the judge will eventually make a final decision on in this non-negotiated plea deal. The State requested a sentence of 45 years with 25 years to serve and 20 on probation.

However, Young Thug’s lawyer Brian Steel clarified that they did not accept the State’s previous plea deal offer that would’ve had him go home today (Thursday, October 31) with 15 years of probation. He did not want to testify and did not accept the special conditions the District Attorney insisted on, and thus moved forward with this non-negotiated plea deal. This comes after various other plea developments in the YSL RICO trial. For example, Yak Gotti refused a plea deal.

Young Thug’s Attorney Discusses Previous Plea Offer

Still, various other YSL codefendants took plea deals, so this case began to close up more and more up until this monumental moment. Regardless, we still don’t know exactly what Young Thug’s plea deal will result in as far as a sentence, how it could change the situations of other defendants, and what the implications of this plea deal are. This is still very early in development, and the State went forward with presenting some final arguments about lyrics and alleged text messages. We still don’t know exactly what were the special conditions that Thugger and his legal team denied in their pursuit of a plea deal. Thug’s attorney Brian Steel expressed that they disagree with most of the prosecution’s arguments, and pushed back on some of their evidence and allegations arguing misrepresentation, omitted evidence, and misstatements.

Meanwhile, amid other plea deals, it seems like this case will finally end after making history as the longest criminal trial in Georgia history. We’re sure that Young Thug and company will still have a lot of legal matter to handle in the aftermath if this really is the end, which we don’t even know for sure. But everyone is on the edge of their seats waiting to see what the judge decides and what other developments could emerge. With all that in mind, stay tuned to HNHH for the latest updates.

About The Author

Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022.

Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case.

Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.