(Source: Reuters)

Grammy-winning rapper Lil Durk has been arrested on suspicion of ordering the killing of a rival in 2022 as the leader of the Chicago-based rap collective Only the Family, federal prosecutors said.

The arrest occurred Thursday near an airport where Lil Durk, whose real name is Durk Devontay Banks, had booked a seat on a flight leaving the United States, according to the criminal complaint.

A defense lawyer representing the artist did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on his defense.

Lil Durk made his first appearance in federal court in the Southern District of Florida on Friday and is expected to be arraigned in federal court in Los Angeles in the coming weeks, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. where the accusations were made.

According to the indictment, 32-year-old Lil Durk was revealed to be the suspect previously identified as Co-Conspirator 1 in an indictment filed on October 17 against five other suspects charged in connection with a 2022 murder.

Prosecutors allege the intended target was a man determined to have tuberculosis who Lil Durk wanted dead.

The other five defendants learned that TB was staying in Los Angeles, followed him there and opened fire, including with a fully automatic weapon, but instead killed a co-worker identified as SR, the indictment said.

According to the complaint, the dispute stemmed from a confrontation at an Atlanta nightclub in November 2020, when a TB associate shot and killed another man and Lil Durk attacked the TB partner in revenge.

The indictment stated that this was one of many rewards Lil Durk gave to people he wanted dead.

Lil Durk won the 2024 Grammy for Best Melodic Rap Performance for his song “All My Life.” According to the news on his social media account, he released his ninth studio album on October 18.