Chicago rapper Lil Durk, born Durk Banks, has failed in his attempt to get his federal murder-for-hire case dismissed, after a U.S. district judge in Los Angeles decisively rejected his legal team’s motion to throw out the charges and allowed the prosecution to move forward toward a trial currently set for late April 2026.[2][4]
According to legal reporting by Meghann Cuniff and other outlets, U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald denied a defense motion that argued federal prosecutors violated their obligations by allegedly failing to promptly disclose a series of threatening voicemails directed at judicial officials involved in earlier bail hearings.[3][4] Durk’s attorneys claimed the alleged threats against U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Yanniello should have been turned over sooner and could have influenced bail and other pretrial decisions.[1][3]
During the recent hearing, Judge Fitzgerald reportedly dismissed the motion in blunt terms, stating, “There is just absolutely no basis for this motion. Just none. Absolutely none,” according to coverage cited by multiple hip-hop and legal news outlets.[1][3][4] Prosecutors countered that Durk’s team had been informed of the threats months earlier, around October, and argued the defense was mischaracterizing the record, with Yanniello calling the allegations “factually inaccurate.”[1][3][5] The judge also rejected broader defense requests for an evidentiary hearing, for the disqualification of the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney’s Office, and for the recusal of all Central District of California judges from the case.[1][3][4]
The federal case centers on an alleged plot tied to a 2022 Los Angeles shooting that targeted rapper Quando Rondo, in which his cousin Lul Pab was killed; Lil Durk was arrested in October 2024 and faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted, according to multiple reports.[1][2] Prosecutors have pursued murder-for-hire and related charges, and court records show a superseding indictment was filed in May 2025 as the case evolved.[4] Judge Fitzgerald is also weighing separate technical arguments over whether certain predicate offenses qualify as “crimes of violence” under federal law, but his latest ruling ensures the core charges will proceed to trial.[4]
With the motion to dismiss denied and the trial currently expected to begin in late April 2026, Lil Durk’s case remains one of the most closely watched legal battles in hip-hop, carrying major implications for the rapper’s career and freedom.[1][2][4] For fans, industry figures, and legal observers alike, the decision underscores that the federal government’s case is very much alive, and that the next phase of proceedings will likely bring more detailed evidence and testimony into public view.
