A judge has ordered Georgia authorities to return Young Thug's property and money that they seized during Fulton County's investigation of the Atlanta rapper.

In an order posted on Wednesday, Judge Paige Reese Whitaker said the state must give back most of the items investigators seized, which include a 2022 Chevrolet Corvette, a 2022 Porsche 911, three Mercedes-Benzes, a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee, a 2018 Lamborghini, a Can-Am Spyder, jewelry, and more than $149,000 in cash.

Attorney Brian Steele, who represents the rapper, had petitioned the court with the argument that the state did not hold a civil forfeiture hearing within the 60-day time limit. Whitaker had originally found in favor of the rapper last year. While the state challenged that petition, the judge said that the applicable Georgia statute "weigh heavily in favor in favor of returning the property."

"The Court finds that the plain language of statute requires that Claimants' property be returned promptly, free of liens and encumbrances," Whitaker's ruling reads. "The State has not identified any authority that would allow it to retain custody of the property where the forfeiture complaint has been dismissed and now the State's appeal of that dismissal has been dismissed."

The judge gave the state a deadline of 5 p.m. on Friday to return the items.

A quiet end to Georgia's longest trial

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announced the indictment of Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, and 27 others in May 2022, saying her office was cracking down on a violent street gang responsible for multiple killings run by the rapper.

Prosecutors alleged that Young Thug and two others founded the street gang Young Slime Life, which was associated with the Bloods street gang, in 2012. The 33-year-old artist has a record label called Young Stoner Life, which prosecutors alleged was tied to Young Slime Life.

Jury selection at the Fulton County Courthouse began in January 2023 and lasted nearly 10 months. Prosecutors had called dozens of witnesses since opening statements in November 2023 in the trial of six defendants.

After what became the longest-running trial in Georgia history, Young Thug pleaded guilty to one gang charge, three drug charges, and two gun charges in October 2024. He also entered a no-contest plea to another gang charge and a racketeering conspiracy charge, meaning that he decided not to contest those charges but can be punished for them as if he had pleaded guilty. 

"I've learned from my mistakes, you know. I come from nothing, and I've made something, and I didn't take full advantage of it. I'm sorry," Young Thug told the judge, promising her that he would never be in this type of situation again.

He was released from prison the next day. The trial ended more than half a year later with the last defendant taking a plea deal.

Young Thug's plea deal

As part of his plea deal, Young Thug must stay away from the metro Atlanta area — as defined by the census — for the first 10 years of his probation, except for weddings, funerals, graduations, or a serious illness of an immediate family member. He can arrive 24 hours before the event and must leave within 48 hours after.

The rapper must also return to the Atlanta area four times during each year of his probation to make an anti-gang, anti-gun violence presentation at a grade school, middle school, or high school, or at an organization like the Boys & Girls Club. Those visits can count toward the 100 hours of community service he must complete during each year of his probation.

He also cannot knowingly have contact with any member of a criminal street gang. The judge said that it includes other people named in the indictment, with the exception of his brother and the rapper Gunna, with whom he has contractual obligations.

He cannot participate in criminal street gang activity or promote any gang, including through hand signs.

Due to the plea deal, weapons seized during the investigation will not be returned to him.

He also can't contact the victims in the case or their families, may not own a gun, must not use drugs other than those prescribed to him, must submit to random drug tests, and must allow searches of himself and his property and electronics.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.