Lil Durk’s bid to throw out his federal murder-for-hire case has been denied, keeping the high-profile prosecution fully intact as it moves toward trial in Los Angeles. According to court reporting from legal journalist Meghann Cuniff and multiple hip-hop news outlets, U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald rejected the Chicago rapper’s motion to dismiss after his legal team argued that alleged death threats against a judge and a prosecutor were mishandled by the government.
Durk, born Durk Banks, is facing federal charges tied to an alleged 2022 murder-for-hire plot targeting rapper Quando Rondo in Los Angeles, where Rondo was injured and his cousin Lul Pab was killed.[1][2][3][4] He was arrested in October 2024 and could reportedly face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.[1][2][4] During a recent hearing in the Central District of California, Judge Fitzgerald shut down the dismissal effort, stating, “There is just absolutely no basis for this motion. Just none. Absolutely none,” according to Cuniff’s detailed legal recap.[2][3][4]
Lil Durk’s attorneys argued that prosecutors failed to promptly disclose threatening voicemails made in February to U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue—who has repeatedly denied Durk bail—and in April to Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Yanniello.[1][2][3] They claimed that earlier notice of those threats could have affected pretrial detention decisions and formed the basis for recusal motions against both the prosecution team and the entire Los Angeles federal bench.[1][2][3] The defense also sought an evidentiary hearing and pushed for more specific details of the indictment, arguing it was overly vague.[1][3]
Prosecutors countered that Durk’s team was notified about the threats in October and called the motion “factually inaccurate,” maintaining that the voicemails did not involve the rapper and did not prejudice any judge overseeing his case.[1][2][3][4] Judge Fitzgerald reportedly agreed, finding “zero prejudice whatsoever” and emphasizing that such threats, while serious, did not provide a legal basis to dismiss the indictment, disqualify the U.S. Attorney’s Office, or recuse the district’s judges.[3] He also declined to disturb the existing bail ruling, leaving Durk in custody as pretrial proceedings continue.[1][2][3]
The ruling marks a significant setback for Lil Durk’s defense as the federal murder-for-hire case, already one of the most closely watched in hip-hop, moves toward a tentatively scheduled trial date in late April 2026.[1][2][3] According to reporting from legal and music outlets, the court is still weighing other pretrial issues, including aspects of the indictment and a prosecution request for an anonymous jury.[1][3] The outcome of the case could have major implications not only for Durk’s career but also for how federal authorities approach alleged retaliatory violence and interstate plots involving high-profile rap artists.
