Lil Durk has been cleared of every charge in the federal murder-for-hire trial that drew packed courtrooms, celebrity spectators and crowds of supporters to downtown Los Angeles.
A federal jury found the 33-year-old Chicago rapper, whose legal name is Durk Banks, not guilty on September 11 after three days of deliberations. The case centered on an August 2022 attack targeting rapper Quando Rondo that instead killed Rondo’s 24-year-old cousin, Saviay’a Robinson, according to The Associated Press.
Prosecutors accused Durk of financing and directing the attack in retaliation for the 2020 killing of his close friend Dayvon “King Von” Bennett. Durk’s lawyers argued that former assistant Kavon Grant organized the plot without the rapper’s knowledge and attacked the credibility of cooperating witnesses who had reached plea agreements with the government.
Durk was not released after the verdict. He remains in federal custody because he faces a separate trial involving murder-related racketeering and firearms allegations, with jury selection currently scheduled to begin October 5.
The Jury Cleared Durk on All Five Counts
Durk had faced five counts: conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking using a dangerous weapon, stalking resulting in death, conspiracy to use interstate commerce facilities to commit murder-for-hire resulting in death and use of interstate commerce facilities to commit murder-for-hire resulting in death.
Jurors rejected all five after roughly two weeks of testimony. The Los Angeles Times reported that Durk kept his head down as the verdicts were read and began wiping away tears when the clerk repeatedly announced “not guilty.”
His two co-defendants, Deandre Wilson and David Lindsey, received a mixed result. Both were acquitted of the murder-for-hire charges but convicted of conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking with a dangerous weapon and stalking resulting in death.
Federal prosecutors expressed disappointment with Durk’s acquittal but pointed to the convictions against Wilson and Lindsey. The government has also made clear that the verdict does not affect the separate case still pending against Durk.
Prosecutors Said the 2022 Attack Was Retaliation for King Von
The prosecution traced the case back to November 2020, when King Von was fatally shot in Atlanta after a confrontation involving people associated with Quando Rondo. Prosecutors alleged that Durk subsequently put money behind an effort to kill Rondo.
On August 19, 2022, members and associates of Durk’s Only the Family collective followed Rondo and his group through Los Angeles before opening fire near the Beverly Center. Rondo survived, but Robinson was killed.
The government’s case included travel records, hotel bookings, financial evidence and testimony from men who admitted participating in the plot. Prosecutors argued that Durk used his money and position within OTF to make the attack possible.
Durk’s attorneys put much of the responsibility on Grant, his former personal assistant. They argued that Grant arranged flights, vehicles, hotel rooms and other logistics and had his own motive for retaliating over King Von’s death. Several government witnesses had entered plea agreements, giving the defense another basis for challenging their testimony.
Ye and Machine Gun Kelly Joined the Crowds at the Courthouse
this been my bro for a decade
when he called and asked if id pull up and support
im there no questionfree durk https://t.co/CU1knyARw4
— blonde don (@machinegunkelly) August 25, 2026
The trial became an attraction well beyond the usual federal courthouse audience. The Los Angeles Times reported that fans, tourists, livestreamers and paid line sitters arrived early in hopes of getting one of the limited seats inside.
Machine Gun Kelly attended early in the proceedings and sat with Durk’s family. He later wrote on X that Durk had been his friend for a decade and that when the rapper asked him to show up, “im there no question.”
Ye also attended and sat in the gallery while one of the cooperating witnesses testified. Court security required spectators to lock away their phones, and U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald eventually limited the number of reserved family seats because demand had become so high.
More than 60 people packed the courtroom for the verdict, according to the Los Angeles Times, with others unable to get inside. Supporters also gathered outside the courthouse, where Reuters reported that the acquittal prompted a celebration.
A Separate Federal Case Still Keeps Durk Behind Bars
The September verdict resolved the five charges before Fitzgerald’s jury, but it did not dispose of every federal allegation against Durk.
Reuters reports that Durk faces a separate trial on murder-related racketeering and firearms offenses. He has pleaded not guilty in that case as well, and prosecutors say they intend to proceed despite losing the murder-for-hire trial.
The two cases were separated before trial, which is why the complete acquittal on September 11 did not result in Durk’s release from federal custody.
His second trial is scheduled to begin October 5.