Attorneys representing six men accused of killing rapper FBG Duck called for a mistrial Tuesday, alleging that a blogger was wrongfully removed from the courtroom after her erroneous reporting on the proceedings angered a key government witness.
While mainstream media outlets have largely ignored the federal murder and racketeering trial, the extraordinary events unfolding at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse have repeatedly spilled onto YouTube channels and rap blogs.
In a motion filed on behalf of all the defense attorneys, lawyer Steve Greenberg said Aleta “Mickey Truth” Williams was pulled out of court last week after she falsely claimed that Rakeem “FBG Butta” Wilton had been paid to work with the feds.
Wilton runs a YouTube channel with nearly 50,000 subscribers and was close friends with FBG Duck, real name Carlton Weekly.
Duck was gunned down in the Gold Coast on Aug. 4, 2020, amid a lengthy gang war. On trial are six members and associates of the O Block faction of the Black Disciples: Marcus Smart, 24; Christopher Thomas, 24; Kenneth Roberson, 30; Charles Liggins, 32; Tacarlos Offerd, 32; and Ralph Turpin, 34.
Williams posted the video about Wilton’s testimony on Dec. 6 and incorrectly stated that he or his mother had received $2,700 in exchange for his testimony. That same day, as Wilton was still technically on the stand while the trial was in recess, he appeared on another YouTube channel and ranted about the mistake.
Williams, who traveled from out of state to report on the trial, posted a correction on Thursday after being contacted by Wilton’s mother, according to the filing. Upset about her false claim, Wilton expressed “great displeasure” to his handlers and “at one point sought to run out of the room where he was being held.”
When he returned to the courtroom to testify, government agents told Williams that she wouldn’t be able to remain in the courtroom while he was on the stand, the filing states.
Although Williams was offered the opportunity to watch from an overflow courtroom, she decided to leave Chicago when the agents told her the defendants were “dangerous people” and said she was now at risk.
Prosecutors alleged that Williams had posted pictures and inaccurate personal information about Wilton’s mother, a claim that was rejected in the mistrial motion. It alleges that Williams’ exclusion from the courtroom violated her right to free speech and the defendants’ right to a public trial.
“The law does not distinguish between traditional and new media,” Greenberg, one of Roberson’s attorneys, wrote in the filing. “If reporters from the Tribune, Sun-Times or the local news had been barred in the same manner as Ms. Williams, this Court would recognize it as an outrageous violation of the defendants’ right to a public trial. This scenario is no less outrageous.”
During a conference Tuesday without the jury present, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Julien said his team would file “a very short response” later this week.
Judge Martha Pacold rejected another push for a mistrial last month, when defense attorneys raised concerns over an FBI agent’s testimony about alleged witness retaliation.
Williams isn’t the only person authorities have booted from the courtroom. The filing shows that another YouTuber was removed from the courtroom on Thursday after he posted a video suggesting that the defendants “needed to activate someone to crash out and kill the witness,” apparently referring to Wilton.
On Tuesday, a witness who had previously been removed from the courtroom took the stand after a warrant was issued for her a day earlier. Tiffany Huff, Offerd’s ex-girlfriend and the mother of his child, discussed his ties to O Block and recalled taking him to purchase a Ford Fusion that was later used in the shooting.
Duck’s mother, LaSheena Weekly, was also removed from the courtroom for a second time after causing a disturbance Monday. Stephen Linder, a supervisor with the U.S. Marshals Service, explained on Tuesday that she was previously cited for having a quarter-ounce of weed at the courthouse and was also involved in a “verbal altercation” that nearly led to a fight.
Keith Spielfogel, one of Offerd’s attorneys, said it was “rather generous” that she was being allowed to watch from the overflow room “given these prior incidents.”
Linder also noted that Liggins’ sister had been kicked out of court when she was found with a small switchblade, though he acknowledged she used it for work and said she had been given a path to come back.
“We just want the same type of respect on both sides,” the typically stone-faced Liggins said, referring to LaSheena Weekly’s treatment.
