A jury is expected to begin deliberations Tuesday in the federal case against Lil Durk, the rapper born Durk Banks, who is accused of plotting to kill a rival in an ambush shooting that instead resulted in the death of another man.
Mr. Banks, a central figure in Chicago’s drill rap scene who had ascended to national acclaim, pleaded not guilty to five total counts, which include stalking and orchestrating a murder-for-hire that stemmed from the shooting death of Saviay’a Robinson in August 2022 in Los Angeles. The trial began there last month.
Initially Mr. Banks was indicted alongside five co-defendants who were accused of facilitating the shooting, two of whom testified to their roles in the shooting, which they described as an attempt at retaliation gone wrong. Over nearly two weeks, prosecutors have argued that Mr. Banks, stricken over the 2020 murder of his friend, the rapper known as King Von, felt pressure on social media to “slide for Von,” or avenge his death.
According to witness testimony and evidence, including the playing of the rapper’s songs and videos, Mr. Banks provided money, cars and flights for associates at his rap label to pursue his friend’s alleged attacker.
The scene outside the downtown courthouse has been frenzied, with tourists, social media influencers and fans gathered daily. Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who is also from Chicago, attended a day of testimony and posed for photos outside the courthouse wearing a black T-shirt that read “Free Durk.”
The rapper Machine Gun Kelly also watched the trial from an overflow room. “This been my bro for a decade. When he called and asked if I’d pull up and support, I’m there no question,” he posted on social media.
Here is what to know about the case.
Who is Lil Durk?
Mr. Banks, 33, is a leading figure in Chicago drill, a style of street rap that emerged in the mid-2010s. With lyrics that could range from cinematic violence to moody introspection, he was named a rapper to watch by XXL Magazine in 2014 and rose to mainstream acclaim for collaborations with Ye, Morgan Wallen and Drake.
Two of his albums hit No. 1 — “The Voice of the Heroes” (2021), a collaboration with Lil’ Baby, and “7220” (2022) — and in 2024, he won a Grammy Award for “All My Life.”
What is Lil Durk accused of?
In 2020, a close friend of Mr. Banks, Dayvon Bennett, the rapper known as King Von, was shot and killed in Atlanta after a fight with a group tied to the rapper Tyquian Bowman, known as Quando Rondo. A different man was initially charged in Bennett’s killing, but the case was later dropped.
Prosecutors say Mr. Banks called for and financed a hit on Mr. Bowman in Los Angeles, organizing associates from his Only the Family rap label to travel from Chicago in pursuit of their target. The shooting resulted in the killing of Mr. Robinson, a cousin of Mr. Bowman.
Describing Mr. Banks as “consumed with revenge,” Daniel Weiner, a prosecutor for the federal government, said in his opening statement that he “used his wealth and used his pursestrings to put pressure on his O.T.F. conspirators to seek that revenge.”
The federal case is largely built on the testimony of the associates of Mr. Banks, some who were initially charged as co-defendants and later pleaded guilty.
Kavon Grant, known as OTF Vonnie, testified to participating in a separate shooting attack on Mr. Bowman in Georgia in 2021 at Mr. Banks’s behest. Kacey Hester, known as OTF Jam, who was not originally indicted but later plead guilty to the murder, said that in 2022 he had been among the shooters who trailed Mr. Bowman’s car as he drove around Los Angeles for hours, eventually ambushing him at a gas station where they opened fire and killed Mr. Robinson. Mr. Grant testified that Mr. Banks had promised cash to anyone who killed Mr. Bowman.
“It’s Durk’s fault. Durk put us in the situation,” Mr. Hester said, adding that immediately after the killing, Deandre Dontrell Wilson, an associate of Mr. Banks, asked by phone, “‘Did you all hit something? Did somebody get hit?’”
Another shooter, Keith Jones testified that shortly before the 2022 killing, Durk offered $1 million for Mr. Bowman’s murder, a sum that enticed Mr. Jones to fly from Chicago to San Diego then drive to Los Angeles. All three men testified that Mr. Banks did not participate in the shooting and never paid them for it.
Mr. Banks and two remaining defendants, Wilson and David Brian Lindsey, who are accused of assisting the shooting, have pleaded not guilty to all five federal charges and could face life sentences if convicted.
What did the defense argue?
Mr. Banks’s defense team, which includes Brian Steel, Drew Findling and Marissa Goldberg, prominent attorneys who have represented high-profile rappers, including Young Thug, Diddy and NBA YoungBoy, have painted Mr. Grant as the mastermind of the shooting and sought to discredit the co-defendants’ credibility. The lawyers have underscored testimony that no one was actually paid for the murder.
The defense played a jail call in which Mr. Grant equated his upcoming testimony to a job interview and said it was his “time to shine.” The defense also showed that Mr. Grant knew Mr. Banks’s Social Security number and had access to his bank accounts and credit cards that were used to buy flights for O.T.F. associates.
Ryan Green, a close friend of Mr. Banks, testified about a conversation he had with Mr. Grant after the death of Mr. Bennett, in which Mr. Grant said he wanted revenge.
“‘I’m going to pop him,’” Mr. Green recalled Grant saying. “Or, ‘I’m going to be there when it happens.’”
In a cross-examination, the defense played a 2023 jail call between Mr. Hester and his wife in which he told her he had discussed options with federal authorities.
“They are saying they will help me,” Hester said in the call. “They will do whatever. All I got to do is tell them.” In the call, he could also be heard “I’m going to do what I got to do, whatever it takes to make sure I don’t do no time.”
How have Lil Durk’s lyrics been used in the trial?
Prosecutors aggressively sought to use lyrics from Mr. Banks’s songs as evidence in the case, while the defense argued that the songs, which heavily describe gun violence, were hyperbolic. Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald ruled to admit some lyrics that referenced Mr. Banks’s state of mind after Mr. Bennett’s death.
That included audio and video of the song “Pissed Me Off,” on which rapped: “Grab a gun / If you ain’t with it, put up money for a gun / Put up money for a hot car / put up money for a bond.” In the video, Mr. Banks wears a T-shirt that reads “Long Live Von.”
Mr. Grant said in court that the lyrics showcased Mr. Banks’s grief. “He’s angry, so he’s letting it out through the music,” he said.
The judge also allowed lines from “Who Want Smoke??,” released in 2021, and “Ahhh Ha,” released in early 2022. Jurors were also shown part of an unreleased music video, “Redman,” in which Mr. Banks shoots another man.
How has the case evolved?
Prosecutors in June escalated the case by charging Mr. Banks and the five co-defendants with Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering Activity (VICAR). The prosecutors claim that Mr. Banks, as the leader of O.T.F., helped orchestrate other violent, gang-related acts, including the 2021 shooting directed at Mr. Bowman and the 2022 murder of Stephon Mack in Chicago, by ordering the attacks and offering bounties.
The defense team argued that the prosecution only brought the charges in an attempt to portray Mr. Banks as involved in a larger criminal operation because it lacked evidence to convict him for the Los Angeles shooting. The judge ruled that the racketeering charges would be severed and tried separately.
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