Officials: Georgia Teen Arrested for Threatening to ‘Assassinate’ Sheriff over Young Thug’s Indictment

A Georgia teen was arrested last week after allegedly threatening to kill Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat and his wife over the arrests of rapper Young Thug and 27 other gang members involved in a mass indictment operation, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday.

Eighteen-year-old Quartavius Mender was charged on May 26 with 23 counts of felony terroristic threats directed toward Labat, his wife, and an Atlanta school district police chief, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The alleged death threats were made in the “comments of Instagram posts of Sheriff Pat Labat, the Gwinnett County Sheriff, the Fulton Clerk, and more,” Fox 5 noted.

According to officials, Mender demanded the release of Young Thug and other Young Slime Life (YSL) gang members, who had been arrested on racketeering charges. Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffrey Lamar Williams, is the alleged head of YSL, according to the Atlanta Constitutional-Journal.

The arrest warrants reviewed by the Journal indicate that Mender said to the sheriff online, “#freethug or Imma sh00t u and your wife.” The teen allegedly commented again on Labat’s Instagram page hours later, writing, “Imma assassinate you.”

“We take these kinds of brazen threats seriously,” Labat said in a statement. “Social media cyberbullying, and hiding behind a keyboard, will not protect someone from criminal prosecution.”

“Mender is being held without bond,” the Journal reported.

Young Thug was arrested in his Buckhead home in May on charges of conspiracy to racketeer and street gang charges, the AP then reported.

Per the report:

Young Thug is allegedly one of three founders of the Young Slime Life, “a criminal street gang that started in late 2012” in Atlanta, the indictment says. YSL is affiliated with the national Bloods gang, officials said. Charges include “Preserving, protecting and enhancing the reputation, power and territory of the enterprise through acts of racketeering activity including murder, assault and threats of violence.”

Williams was denied bond on Thursday by a Fulton County judge, 11 Alive reported. His trial date is scheduled for January 9, 2023.

You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.