Young Thug, who is scheduled to perform later this month at a festival in Montreal, was arrested Monday on suspicion of being part of an Atlanta street gang.
The 30-year-old rapper, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, is one of 28 people charged with conspiracy to violate Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and participating in criminal street gang activity.
He is accused of being a founder of Young Slime Life (YSL), a criminal street gang affiliated with the national Bloods gang.
According to the indictment, YSL has been active in Atlanta since 2012 and is involved in murder, attempted murder, carjacking, robbery, theft, drug dealing and witness intimidation.
Young Thug’s lawyer Brian Steel told Atlanta media that his client “committed no violation of law, whatsoever” and will be cleared.
The rapper, who was featured on Camila Cabello’s 2018 hit “Havana,” won a Grammy in 2019 as a co-writer of Childish Gambino’s “This Is America.” He is part of the line-up of the Metro Metro festival, which runs May 20 to 22 in Montreal.