ATLANTA — Atlanta rapper Young Thug had a medical emergency during court proceedings Thursday morning and was taken to the hospital, according to his lawyers. He’s since been released.
The rapper is one of more than two dozen people awaiting trial on a sweeping gang indictment involving alleged members of the Young Slime Life gang.
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Officials did not provide details about his illness due to medical privacy laws.
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“I know he’s had some difficulty of a similar sort at the Cobb County Jail a few months ago, and so I’m obviously concerned about his wellbeing,” the lawyer told the judge.
Lawyers for the rapper complained at a previous bond hearing in April that he was suffering from exhaustion.
“Mr. Williams is sleep deprived, mandated to wake up on court days between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. and not having more than five hours of sleep per night,” lawyers said. “By the end of the week, Mr. Williams is fighting to pay attention to the goings on in his case.”
The motion for a hearing was filed but the rapper’s attorneys have not been given a date yet for that hearing.
Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffrey Williams, has been in court nearly every day since pre-trial hearings began. The trial is expected to last nine months to a year.
Prosecutors say Williams helped to found the Young Slime Life gang, which has spent years “terrorizing” the city with a variety of crimes including murder.
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