Lil Durk Blasts Feds For Masking Jurors— Rapper Says 'Guilty by Secrecy'

Rapper Lil Durk is fighting a motion by the U.S. Department of Justice to shield jurors' identities in his federal murder-for-hire case, claiming that it will prejudice the jury and violate his constitutional rights.

As reported by AllHipHop, lawyers for the 31-year-old rapper—Durk Banks in real life—disapproved of prosecutors' request for an anonymous jury in a court motion. The filing called the measure "unnecessary" and rooted more in "speculation rather than fact.

Federal authorities contend that jurors might be intimidated or harassed because of Durk's celebrity status and the brutality of the charges. They used anonymous death threats, email, and telephone calls from purported backers as reasons to grant the motion.

Durk's defense attorney, Drew Findling, claimed that the proposal would harm the openness of the proceedings. "An anonymous jury would undercut transparency and fairness in these proceedings and would be inconsistent with Mr. Banks' presumption of innocence," Findling said.

"Such a drastic measure is justified only when there is a strong reason to believe that anonymity is necessary to protect jurors or the integrity of the trial."

As reported by the BBC, the case is based on claims that Durk conspired in a 2022 murder-for-hire scheme to retaliate for the death of his close friend King Von, who died in Atlanta in 2020 in a shootout with Quando Rondo's entourage. Prosecutors say that Durk's associates had come from Chicago to Los Angeles, planning to shoot Rondo, but killed his cousin, Saviay'a "Lul Pab" Robinson, at a gas station in Beverly Grove.

The DOJ maintains that anonymity is warranted due to the dangers posed by Durk's notoriety and the publicity surrounding the case. Durk's defense, though, argued that all co-defendants are already behind bars and do not represent a viable threat to jurors.

"Anonymity would convey to jurors that Mr. Banks is inherently dangerous, infringe upon his presumption of innocence, and prejudice the defense in the most fundamental of ways," Findling wrote.

The defense also pointed out that anonymous juries are generally deployed in organized crime or witness-tampering prosecutions—areas they said do not fit Durk's case. Instead, they proposed numbering jurors who appear in open court and keeping lawyers' names sealed.

If approved, the DOJ's request would enable jurors to use pseudonyms and provide additional security. The presiding judge still has not decided on this request.

Durk is currently in federal custody after his bail denial in May 2025 for alleged infractions related to phone use while in custody. He might get life in prison if convicted.