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FBI to probe judge who sentenced Meek Mill as Philly shows their support
Last Monday Meek Mill was sentenced to serve two to four years in state prison for probation violation.
Since the hearing a week ago there has been a strong outrage over the sentencing, the judge overseeing Meek’s case, and the American prison system in general.
While Meek isn’t perfect — his probation stems from a 2008 gun and drug charge (which he served a year for) — when it comes down to it, a 30-year-old father is going to be spending significant time behind bars due to two separate offenses that were both previously dropped.
Sign the petition to overturn the blatant injustice on @Change #Justice4Meek https://t.co/RrM651vrXl ✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽We wit u young King. Stay Up. This too shall pass. pic.twitter.com/APXMRoEZfZ
— T.I. (@Tip) November 9, 2017
To be yung Blac and successful YOU ENEMY NUMBER 1. HOLD YO HEAD @MeekMill streets chose u💪🏽🏁
— THA GREAT (@NipseyHussle) November 6, 2017
Sadly there are Black folks going through the same radicalized injustice(s) within the justice system that Meek Mill has experienced for over a decade EVERY SINGLE DAY. This requires more than just gradual reform in laws—It requires a swift overhaul. pic.twitter.com/Mt13BwnIvJ
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) November 13, 2017
Meek’s Lawyer, Joe Tacopina says that this court’s conclusion was not right and told CNN says they plan to appeal the sentence and accused judge Brinkley, of being “enamored” with the rapper and taking “a personal interest in the case.”
“(Meek’s) frustrated, really frustrated and knows he’s being treated different than anyone else,” Tacopina continued. “If his name was John Smith, he wouldn’t be in jail and he certainly wouldn’t be on probation.”
Tacopina went on to criticize Brinkley for extending Mill’s initial five-year probation sentence following various violations. “He’s been on probation for nearly 10 years. Nobody goes on probation for 10 years,” Tacopina added.
As an act of solidarity, the city of Philadelphia held a rally outside the city’s Criminal Justice Center to protest the decision.
At the rally were Meek’s MMG comrade Rick Ross, Philly native PnB Rock, Macklemore, NBA Hall-of-Famer Julius “Dr. J” Erving (Philadelphia 76ers), and the Philadelphia Eagles’ Malcolm Jenkins, who also spoke at the event.
“I’m here to support my brother Meek Mill. I want y’all to understand that if it take Meek Mill to draw this attention, we gonna use Meek Mill to draw this attention that is gonna speak for so many others,” Rozay said at the rally.
Now, according to Page Six, the FBI is launching a probe into the judge proceeding the case. According to a source of Page Six the FBI’s interest is legitimate saying,
“The feds have an interest in the judge and [her] potential relationships. This is an investigation looking into a possible extortionate demand. Undercover agents have been in the courtroom monitoring the Meek proceedings since April 2016.”
The violations which brought Judge Genece E. Brinkley to her decision were an atercation at a St. Louis airport in March and the second in August when Meek was arrested in New York for reckless endangerment for popping wheelies on his dirt bike and not wearing a helmet.
The fact that Meek Mill can possibly spend four years in a state prison for illegally riding a dirt bike is ridiculous to say the least. Whatever you think of Meek Mill, it doesn’t take much to see a failure in the system here.
What Meek’s camp and the hip-hop community are hoping for is that the judge is removed from the case and justice can be served.
If you want to do something to help, go to Change.org and petition for Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf to reconsider Meek’s sentence.
So far, the petition has well over 350,000 signatures.