Young Thug scored a legal win in the face of racketeering charges during a hearing that kicked off with a naked Zoom bomber

• Rapper Young Thug appeared in court on Thursday related to a racketeering charge against him.
• On Wednesday, label mate Gunna entered a guilty plea and was freed from prison.

Young Thug appeared in Fulton County, Georgia, court for a hearing on Thursday, days after two of his co-defendants took plea deals, scoring a legal win but not securing pre-trial freedom.

The rapper — whose real name is Jeffrey Lamar Williams — appeared in court wearing a black suit, accompanied by two other defendants. Williams was arrested in May on a racketeering conspiracy charge and has remained in pre-trial detention since then.

Thursday's hearing started after hours of delay and with a naked Zoom bomber, who appeared on the court's internal video feed, flashing the courtroom with a sign that said "Free Young Thug," according to the Atlanta-Constitution Journal.

During a pre-trial hearing on Thursday, Williams' attorney managed to preclude Georgia investigators from being able to hold on to Williams' and other defendants' cell phones, which were seized during a search at Williams's home in 2015. Specifically, Williams' team was able to convince Judge Ural Glanville that evidence that prosecutors obtained from Williams' home during the 2015 raid — including cellphones — should not be admissible for trial because it was seized without a search warrant.

"You didn't have the right to keep that," Glanville told prosecutors during the hearing. "You didn't have the right to keep that particular evidence."

Williams' attorneys have also asked for lyrics from Williams and other artists on the label not to be used as evidence in court, arguing that it is "racist and discriminatory."

Prosecutors say his record label, YSL, is also an Atlanta street gang called "Young Slime Life" which he helped to found and is affiliated with the national Bloods gang.

Williams and 27 others were arrested and charged with various crimes, as prosecutors cracked down on what they described as two rival gangs in the city, YSL and YFN. While some defendants are accused of murder, prosecutors also charged Williams with illegal firearms possession, drug charges, and street racing.

Williams' attorney, Brian Steel, told Insider in May that his client was innocent.

"Mr. Williams has committed no violation of law, whatsoever. We will fight this case ethically, legally, and zealously. Mr. Williams will be cleared."

Williams' attorneys have denied the existence of the gang entirely, saying YSL is a record label and loose alliance of artists called "Young Stoner Life."

YSL label mate Gunna is freed on a guilty plea a day prior

The hearing comes a day after YSL rapper Gunna, real name Sergio Kitchens, pleaded guilty to a racketeering charge and was released from prison. Kitchens took an Alford plea, which is a type of plea deal whereby the defendant maintains their innocence while entering a guilty plea. He was sentenced to five years in prison, with four years suspended. He was allowed to leave prison on Wednesday because his more than six months in jail for pre-trial detainment was counted as time served for his one-year prison sentence.

While many on social media labeled Kitchens a snitch, Kitchens said in a statement Wednesday that he did not cooperate with investigators and would not testify at the trial.

"While I have agreed to always be truthful, I want to make it perfectly clear that I have NOT made any statements, have NOT been interviewed, have NOT cooperated, have NOT agreed to testify or be a witness for or against any party in the case and have absolutely NO intention of being involved in the trial process in any way," Kitchens said in a statement following his release, according to WSBTV.

Jeff DiSantis, a spokesperson for the district attorney's office, said that Kitchens agreed in court to testify if called upon to do so, according to The New York Times. However, Kitchens' attorney, Steve Sadow, told The Times said that his client "reserves his right to assert his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination."

On Tuesday, another YSL defendant, Water Murphy (aka DK) took a plea deal, prosecutors confirmed to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Like Murphy, he pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to violate the racketeer influenced and corruption organization (RICO) act.

Murphy's probation included a condition that he "testify truthfully in any further trial as it may become necessary," according to the AJC. Murphy was sentenced to one year in prison and nine years of probation. Like Murphy, his seven months of pre-trial detainment counted as time served.

Williams was asked to return to court for a hearing on December 19, with the trial set to begin on January 9, 2023.