The Young Thug trial continues to take unexpected turns. The rapper's lawyer, Brian Steel, confronted both the judge and the prosecution over meeting with a witness in private. The lawyer's refusal to reveal his source subsequently led to him being charged with criminal contempt. The judge sentenced him to 10 weekends in jail, which translates to 20 days. Steel has now been granted bond, however. This means he won't have to serve time behind bars.
Steel's own attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, confirmed this development on Wednesday, June 12. "We are thrilled that Brian will be home with his family for Father’s Day this weekend," she told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "We appreciate how quickly and thoughtfully our appellate courts handled this unfortunate situation." It was unclear whether Steel would be granted bond. Prior to being granted bond, he asked if he could serve his jail time alongside his client, Young Thug, so they could continue to work on the case. "Those 20 days consisting of every weekend for the next 10 weekends," the judge originally ordered. "It’s to commence this Friday, June the 14th at 7 p.m. and not to end until Sunday, August the 18th, 2024, at 7 p.m."
Young Thug's Lawyer Will Not Serve Jail Time
Brian Steel's commitment to his client has been ironclad. The lawyer spoke highly of Young Thug during an interview with 11Alive in 2023. He not only refuted the charges made against Thug, but made a case for the rapper being a hero. "[He's] wrongly charged," he asserted. "I think a person like Jeffery Williams is a hero and not a criminal... He has given jobs to people only in the inner community. He'll only hire from the inner communities in his studios or his rap label." Furthermore, Steel praised Thug for being a good role model on the youth. "He goes around our country," the lawyer claimed. "And he tells people, 'Hustle doesn't mean sell drugs.'"
Young Thug has been similarly complimentive of Steel. He even gave a shout out to the lawyer on his 2018 song "Oh Okay." The rapper used Steel as one of the many examples of his lavish lifestyle. "Cop a Bugatti out of there. I got on white, I can't kneel," he raps. "Pour out the pint, watch it spill, yeah (Oh, oh, okay). My lawyer Brian Steel, yeah (Okay)." Gunna and Lil Baby are the other artists on the song, which subsequently gives "Oh Okay" a complicated historical context. Gunna was part of the YSL indictment. He decided to cop a plea deal, however, to avoid prison time. The rapper's decision has led to widespread speculation that he "snitched" on Thug. He adamantly denies this.