Lil Durk Posts ‘Allah Is The Greatest' as Murder-For-Hire Trial Nears Closing Arguments

Lil Durk shared a brief religious message on Instagram as his federal murder-for-hire trial moves toward closing arguments. Durk, whose legal name is Durk Banks, posted 'Allah Is The Greatest' to his Instagram Story on Sept. 4, shortly after both prosecutors and the defense finished presenting evidence in his trial. The message marked his first public statement since the proceedings began. Durk is accused of financing a murder-for-hire plot targeting Quando Rondo in retaliation for the 2020 killing of King Von. Prosecutors allege members of Durk's Only The Family collective traveled to Los Angeles in August 2022 and opened fire on Rondo and his group outside a gas station. Rondo survived, but his cousin Saviay'a Robinson, also known as Lul Pab, was killed. Durk has pleaded not guilty. Three of Durk's co-defendants, Kacey Hester, known as OTF Jam; Kavon Grant, known as OTF Vonni; and Keith Jones, known as Flacka, pleaded guilty before trial and testified for the prosecution. Their testimony became a major part of the government's case, while Durk's attorneys challenged their credibility and accounts of his alleged involvement. Durk's defense called its final witnesses Thursday, including two men who testified that they never heard him discuss a plan to kill Quando Rondo. One of the witnesses said he was with Durk during the time surrounding the August 2022 shooting. The defense also called Shakima Springfield, King Von's former girlfriend, who described Grant, also known as OTF Vonni, as 'a liar and a thief.' Earlier in the trial, prosecutors presented evidence they argued connected Durk to the alleged plot and pointed to flights booked for Dubai on the morning federal agents began executing search warrants in October 2024. Durk was arrested later that day near Miami International Airport. Jurors are scheduled to return Tuesday, Sept. 8, for closing arguments. Megan Thee Stallion's legal team filed a motion earlier this week, asking a federal judge to authorize registering her $75,000 judgment against Milagro Gramz in the Southern District of Texas, where Gramz lives and holds assets. If granted, the move would allow Megan's team to pursue collection in Texas while Gramz's appeal remains pending. As previously reported by miixtapechiick.com, Megan's team opposed Gramz's request to pause enforcement of the judgment earlier this year. The court denied Gramz's request on June 29, including her request to waive or reduce the bond required to secure the judgment during her appeal. Gramz has not posted a supersedeas bond or other security, and no stay preventing Megan from enforcing the judgment is currently in effect. The full $75,000 judgment also remains unpaid. Megan's attorneys argue there is good cause to register the judgment in Texas because they are unaware of any assets belonging to Gramz in the Southern District of Florida, while her assets are located in or flow through the Southern District of Texas. According to a declaration from Megan's attorney, Alejandro Brito, Gramz maintains one or more JPMorgan Chase accounts tied to Houston addresses where income from content creation, subscriptions and platform monetization is deposited through payment processors including Stripe, PayPal, Zelle and Twitch. According to Brito's declaration, account statements show balances that have at times exceeded $70,000 and have fluctuated substantially over time. The filing also points to a sworn declaration Gramz submitted in June in which she said she is self-employed, primarily earns money through her online content and does not own a home or other substantial real property. Megan's attorneys say that would allow them to pursue collection methods available under Texas law, including a judgment lien and garnishment of the Chase accounts identified in Brito's declaration. The motion argues Gramz should not be able to leave the judgment unsecured while continuing her appeal, particularly when her Texas accounts can fluctuate significantly. Megan's attorneys noted that post-judgment interest continues to accrue while the $75,000 remains unpaid. Megan's attorneys said they contacted Gramz by email on Aug. 24 about the requested registration and that she opposes it. The court has not yet ruled on the motion. Shakima Springfield called cooperating witness Kavon Grant, known as OTF Vonni, 'a liar and a thief' while testifying for the defense Thursday (Sept. 3) in the federal murder-for-hire trial of Durk Banks, the rapper known as Lil Durk. Springfield, a U.S. Army captain with a law enforcement background, dated King Von and lived with him in Atlanta until early 2019, as his music career started taking off. She met him through his sister Kayla and moved to Atlanta in September 2018. Springfield testified Thursday was only the third time she had seen Durk in person and said she has never spoken to him. Much of Springfield's testimony focused on Grant and his relationship with Von. Defense attorney Brian Steel asked who controlled Von's finances after his death, and Springfield testified Grant had complete authority over his accounts. Von had a son born in July 2019, who is now 7. Steel twice attempted to question Springfield about an allegation that Grant stole $300,000 from a trust fund set up for Von's son. Both times, U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald sustained objections and told the defense to move on. Durk's attorney Drew Findling ended his questioning without further cross-examination from prosecutors. Springfield also testified about her interactions with Grant following Von's death. She said she learned of Von's Nov. 6, 2020 killing online and traveled from Chicago to his mother's home in Atlanta to pay her respects. She did not see Durk there. Springfield said she called Grant after the killing and asked what happened and who shot Von. Grant told her they had been at the club when it happened and said, 'Don't worry, I'll take care of it.' She testified she called him again three days later with the same question. The defense then turned to another cooperating witness, this time through testimony from his wife. Lashante Hester, the wife of Kacey Hester, known as OTF Jam, testified she recently received a text message she believed came from the FBI checking in and telling her Jam was thinking about the family. Hester responded that he 'can't be thinking about us if he up there telling all them people business.' She testified that no one from law enforcement had previously asked her the questions she faced Thursday, that she does not know Durk and that he has never contacted her. Hester also said she did not know the details of Jam's cooperation with prosecutors, including his guilty plea. 🚨 DURK TRIAL DAY 11 UPDATE: Brian Steel gets back up with Jam's wife.Steel: 'Ma'am, did you want to testify in this case before Jam testified in this case?'Hester: 'No.' She says she only wanted to testify after Jam testified. — Chris (@Chrislovesmedia) September 3, 2026 Prosecutors challenged Hester's account on cross-examination. They put the text back on screen and questioned her about what she meant, including whether she did not care about the truth 'because you are from the South Side of Chicago and you don't testify,' which Hester said she did not understand. Prosecutors also asked whether her 15-year-old son was upset that his father was cooperating and questioned her about threats allegedly made against people who cooperate with the government. Hester said she only knew about her own car and that nothing had happened to it. On redirect, Steel returned to why Hester agreed to testify in the first place. She explained that she decided to take the stand after Jam testified that she knew things about the murders and was 'lying on her name' in court. Asked if she wanted to go home, Hester said, 'Right now.' While Springfield and Hester's testimony centered on the government's cooperating witnesses, another defense witness addressed evidence prosecutors previously showed jurors. Sanchay Jain, senior vice president of marketing at Alamo Records, testified about Durk's unreleased 'Redman' music video. Jain said the label blocked its release because scenes violated Alamo's policies against guns and violence. Durk's attorney Christy O'Connor questioned Jain about the label's approval process, with Jain confirming that material that should not be released does not get released and that the 'Redman' video would never see the light of day. On cross-examination, prosecutors sought to connect the video testimony back to the Los Angeles shooting at the center of the case. They asked Jain whether he knew Quando Rondo was later shot at in Los Angeles, which he did. Jain was also asked whether clips from the unreleased video had circulated elsewhere, including during Durk's concerts, and said no. When prosecutors attempted to question Jain about whether Durk went quiet following Von's death, Fitzgerald sustained a defense objection and called the question irrelevant. Springfield, Hester and Jain were among the witnesses called Thursday after prosecutors rested their case and Durk's attorneys began presenting the defense. Prosecutors in Lil Durk's federal murder-for-hire trial pointed to two flights booked for Dubai on the morning of FBI searches as evidence they say shows the rapper was preparing to flee. FBI Agent Cody Burke testified Wednesday (Sept. 2) that agents began executing search warrants around 6 a.m. on Oct. 24, 2024, including at the home of Jason Smith, who worked with Durk. According to journalist Michael Blackshire, who reported from the courtroom, prosecutors showed jurors a flight booked for Durk, whose legal name is Durk Banks, at 7:11 a.m. with Dubai as the final destination. Burke testified that investigators believed Durk was in Miami that morning and already had FBI agents stationed in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. He also said Durk was not named in the search warrant at the time. Jurors were shown body camera footage from the search of Smith's home, along with cell phone records showing Smith called Durk before leaving the house. Prosecutors later displayed a flight confirmation recovered during the search. Burke testified that investigators discovered a second flight booked for Durk, this one a private flight from Miami to Dubai scheduled for 9 p.m. Durk was arrested later that day near Miami International Airport. The testimony came after Kavon Grant, known as OTF Vonni, finished his time on the witness stand. During questioning about an earlier shooting in Blackshear, Georgia, Grant acknowledged obtaining guns and vehicles and volunteering to participate. When asked whether anyone made him go, Grant responded, 'I volunteered.' Grant denied volunteering for the Aug. 19, 2022 shooting in Los Angeles that killed Saviay'a 'Lul Pabb' Robinson. His credibility was also challenged over a jail call with his mother. Defense attorney Jonathan Harbaugh asked Grant whether he told her he had already been granted a reduction in his sentence. Grant initially said no before the call was played in court. 'They granted my motion,' Grant could be heard telling his mother. Asked why he told her that, Grant responded, 'To give her hope.' 'You're saying you lied to your mother?' Harbaugh asked. 'Yea,' Grant said. When Harbaugh later asked whether he would lie while facing a mandatory life sentence, Grant responded, 'No. No reason to lie. The truth is the truth.' Drew Findling did not conduct another cross-examination of Grant before prosecutors moved on to Burke, who testified that the FBI began investigating Durk in March 2023. Prosecutors also introduced messages and other evidence as Burke testified, including material extracted from iCloud accounts belonging to Smith and OTF Jam, whose legal name is Kacey Hester. One screenshot showed an Instagram direct message sent to Durk from an account named 'rico_lamron300' with vanish mode turned on. According to Blackshire, the message read, 'I got them hunting you out. Better have 3 ski mask on.' Jurors also heard an audio message that Blackshire reported was sent by THF Bayzoo in a group chat. Someone could be heard saying, 'Jam sent them in there. Sent them to the slot. Jam sent the police in to the crib on em.' Prosecutors later played an excerpt from Durk's interview with DJ Akademiks on Off the Record in which Akademiks asked about people saying 'Slide for Von.' 'I don't see the comments no more.' Durk said in the clip, according to Blackshire. 'I don't know why though. We different in the Raq.' Another recording introduced by prosecutors was a jail call involving Antonio 'Boonie Moe' Jones after Robinson was killed. 'Smoking on Lul Pab. I'm smoking on Pab right now,' Jones could be heard saying, according to Blackshire. Burke also testified that FBI records showed Durk changed his phone number 17 times between 2017 and 2024. During cross-examination, defense attorney Marissa Goldberg questioned Burke about the investigation and his knowledge of Durk. When she asked whether he had listened to Durk's entire three-and-a-half-hour interview with Akademiks, Burke said, 'No, I did not.' Prosecutors entered Thursday expected to rest their case by lunchtime, with the defense previously indicating it could rest by Friday. As of the end of Wednesday's proceedings, it remained unclear whether Durk or co-defendants Deandre Wilson (OTF DeDe) and David Lindsey (Browneyez) would testify. Lil Durk's dad Dontay Banks and Brian Steel talk after court today pic.twitter.com/mvL7Aj9DGX — Michael Blackshire (@Blackshireflick) September 3, 2026