Photo Credit: Lil Durk by JD Sports / CC by 4.0
A federal judge has declined Lil Durk’s request for release from custody despite his recent acquittal of a murder-for-hire plot.
Last week, a federal judge declined to immediately release Lil Durk from custody due to concerns that the rapper might flee the country while awaiting a second trial, despite his recent acquittal on charges related to a murder-for-hire plot. U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald listened to competing arguments, acknowledging that September’s acquittal substantially strengthened Durk’s case for release. However, he remained concerned about the rapper’s attempted trip to Dubai ahead of his 2024 arrest.
“Would he flee?” Judge Fitzgerald asked during the hearing, calling the matter “a question of psychology.” The judge noted that the acquittal had changed his assessment considerably, but many of the circumstances that previously led him to deny bail remain unchanged.
Durk has been in custody for over two years. His attorneys argue that the murder-for-hire verdict actually gives him strong incentive to remain in the country and defend himself against the remaining allegations rather than abandon his family and career. His legal team has offered substantial financial collateral, including future music royalties, publishing income, and other assets, as well as letters of support from Jay-Z and J. Cole urging for his release.
But federal prosecutors opposed his release, arguing that the rapper, whose legal name is Durk Banks, has sufficient resources and connections to leave the country and continue making money abroad, regardless of whether he forfeited the assets pledged as collateral. They also questioned whether Banks would comply with court-imposed restrictions, claiming that he has “absolutely no respect for authority.”
Banks remains in custody ahead of a second federal trial scheduled for August 30, 2027. Prosecutors still allege that he participated in violent acts in connection with music collective Only the Family, which the prosecution characterizes as a criminal enterprise. His defense team disputes those allegations and intends to challenge whether the remaining prosecution can rely on conduct connected to the 2022 shooting involving Quando Rondo after the murder-for-hire acquittal.
The judge has taken Banks’ bail request under submission without announcing a decision but is expected to issue a written ruling as to whether Banks can await his August 2027 trial outside federal custody.