Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald will preside over Lil Durk’s upcoming federal trial scheduled for October 5, 2026. The Los Angeles federal judge is the same jurist who oversaw the rapper’s high-profile murder-for-hire trial, which ended in an acquittal on all five counts on September 11, 2026. Fitzgerald previously granted a motion by Lil Durk’s defense team to sever the racketeering charges from the murder-for-hire case, ruling they had to be tried independently rather than alongside the initial proceedings.
The Lil Durk racketeering trial involves separate allegations of racketeering activity and weapons offenses stemming from a third superseding indictment filed in June 2026. Prosecutors added two racketeering-related charges, including Murder in Aid of Racketeering, one of the most serious gang-related charges available under federal law, and Conspiracy to Commit Stalking. The charges are linked to the Chicago-based rap collective Only The Family (OTF), which prosecutors allege engaged in robbery, murder, and drug trafficking. Fitzgerald had previously accused the government of trying to expand the indictment at the last minute, calling it a “clever” move but describing it as a matter of “having the Chicago tail wag the Los Angeles dog”.
Although Lil Durk cleared a massive hurdle with the initial not guilty verdict, he remains in federal custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles while awaiting the start of this second trial. His two co-defendants, Deandre Wilson and David Lindsey, face trial on the same racketeering counts. Legal experts estimate the trial could run three to four weeks, potentially concluding by early November 2026 if Durk is acquitted.
