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Lil Durk is one week away from trial, and prosecutors now want their full witness list kept out of public view until a judge says otherwise.
Federal prosecutors made the private request after an August 13 hearing, asking Judge Michael Fitzgerald to seal the draft list indefinitely.
Prosecutors wrote, “Pursuant to the Court’s instruction at the August 13, 2026 hearing, Plaintiff United States of America requests that this Court seal the government’s draft witness list. The Court has inherent supervisory authority to seal documents in appropriate circumstances.”
The three-page filing names no witnesses, offers no safety explanation and says secrecy should last “until further order of the Court.”
That silence stands out because threats have followed the case since Lil Durk’s October 2024 arrest, creating an ugly security problem around everyone involved.
Four threatening voicemails were left for Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue on February 22, 2025, while Yanniello received a separate call directed at him on April 28.
One caller warned, “If they get life… I’m gonna burn this m########### down. Burn it to the ground… It’s not a game b####.”
Another told Yanniello, “Free Durk, or we gonna shoot that m########### up,” before answering his question about the target with, “S###, your ass.”
Investigators found no evidence connecting Lil Durk to those calls, and his lawyers have consistently rejected claims that he threatened or endangered witnesses.
Prosecutors also claimed, “Evidence collected in this case also shows defendant has allegedly placed monetary bounties to solicit other murders, including a family member of a witness. Defendant’s modus operandi is clear: he will use his power, his money, his influence, and any pretrial release to endanger anyone who he perceives as a threat, including witnesses in this case.”
Lil Durk has pleaded not guilty in the Los Angeles murder-for-hire prosecution involving Quando Rondo and the shooting death of Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson.
He also faces a murder-in-aid-of-racketeering charge over Stephon Mack’s 2022 Chicago killing, which prosecutors claim grew from another paid revenge plot.
Fitzgerald separated the Mack charge from the Los Angeles case in July, giving Lil Durk two trials instead of one sprawling proceeding.
The Los Angeles trial begins August 20 at 8:30 A.M., while Fitzgerald has not scheduled the separate racketeering trial.
