A source tellsRolling Stonethat the meetings were moving ahead defendant by defendant.
Word eventually spread that the trials return date was pushed to Monday, the source said.
They have pleaded not guilty.
FILE - Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, appears at a hearing, Dec. 22, 2022, in Atlanta. The new judge presiding over the racketeering and gang prosecution of rapper Young Thug and several other defendants said Friday, July 19, 2024, that the trial has gone on for a really long time and she plans to move it forward expeditiously.Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/AP, File
Williams already has been in custody more than two years following his arrest in May 2022.
The new closed-door meetings Thursday followed after Judge Whitaker vented more frustration with prosecutors a day earlier.
The redaction was a hashtag that read Free Qua.
Would you like a mistrialwithoutprejudice?
Judge Whitaker then asked Westmoreland.
The lawyer said she would.
He went on to say he believes the defense deserved a mistrial with prejudice over what happened Wednesday.
How many mistakes can you give prosecutors before you make the determination theyre no longer a mistake?
Theyve made dozens of mistakes and been given the benefit of the doubt throughout.
Its not practical, he said.
Williams was charged alongside 27 other co-defendants in a massive 65-count indictment.
He alleges Copeland is responsiblefor one of the murders in the indictment.
Copeland has not been charged in the case and was granted immunity to testify.
Thecontempt order was overturnedon appeal.
At that point, around 70 witnesses already had testified.
Prosecutors still have dozens more on their list.
If the trial proceeds, its expected to last through the end of the year.
