Kim Kardashian is either expanding her sphere of criminal advocacy, or planning the next season of her hit legal podcast, Kim Kardashian’s The System. On October 13, she tweeted her support of Atlanta rapper, Gunna, who has been held in jail for five months awaiting trial on racketeering charges. Leading with the hashtag #FreeGunna, Kardashian wrote that she has communicating with his legal representation, and that several claims by the prosecution related to “witness intimidation” and his alleged gang affiliation are erroneous.
“Imagine sitting in a jail cell for 155 days with no bond when the only evidence against you is a ticket for an unrelated window tint and someone saying you weren’t in a gang,” she wrote. “That’s where my friend Sergio finds himself today after having his bond denied for the third time despite there being zero evidence that he committed a crime.”
In May, Gunna, Young Thug, and several other members of the YSL collective were arrested in a massive RICO indictment. The initial indictment accuses Gunna of drug possession with intent to distribute, as well as “participation in criminal street gang activity,” and he is facing a single count of racketeering. In a June statement, Gunna maintained his innocence, writing, “My art is not allowed to stand alone as entertainment, I’m not allowed that freedom as a Black Man in America.” He was denied bond in July for the second time, for the third time on October 13, and a trial is expected to take place in January 2023.
“Although we must respect the Court’s ruling, we know it is wrong,” Gunna’s attorney Steve Sadow told Rolling Stone following the latest unsuccessful appeal. “Gunna is innocent of the charge against him and should not be in jail pending trial.”
There has been some controversy around the case over witnesses; another of Gunna’s lawyers, Kristen Norvay, said in August that his legal team has not been presented with “a single shred of evidence from a witness who was actually threatened,” per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Earlier in October, Kardashian began releasing the first season of her podcast, subtitled The Case of Kevin Keith and focusing on the titular convict who has been imprisoned for 28 years on triple-homicide charges, despite a lack of physical evidence. The podcast has been a huge success, topping the Spotify charts, but two survivors of the crime in question told The Daily Mail that they were never contacted by Kardashian’s team, and maintained that Keith is guilty of the crime.
Kardashian’s interest in criminal justice led her to meet with then-president Donald Trump, convincing him to successfully advocate for the early release of several people incarcerated “for drug-related and white collar crimes,” per the BBC. Last December, Kardashian passed the “baby bar exam,” otherwise known as the First-Year Law Students’ Examination, and intends to take the California bar exam at some point in the future.