Lil Durk’s father is publicly attacking the government’s case against his son as the rapper’s federal murder-for-hire trial approaches its final stage, arguing that prosecutors have presented weak evidence and witnesses whose stories do not consistently line up.

Dontay Banks Sr., also known as Abdul Haqq and “Big Durk,” spoke about the case during a Sept. 7 livestream with streamer N3on outside the federal courthouse in Los Angeles.

Asked what he believed people were overlooking as the trial neared closing arguments, Banks pointed directly at the prosecution’s witnesses and evidence.

“The fact that these people, these witnesses, and this evidence is so weak, you know? So weak,” Banks said. “People ain’t focusing on that. Why is the government doing it?”

Banks went further, arguing that testimony presented during the trial contained inconsistencies that he believes jurors should scrutinize when they begin deliberations.

“When you listen to the witnesses, ain’t nobody’s story the same,” he said.

His comments represent the view of Durk’s father and supporter, not a determination by the court about the strength of the government’s evidence.

But they arrive at a critical point in the case.

Both the prosecution and defense have finished presenting evidence, leaving closing arguments and jury deliberations as the next major steps in a trial that could determine whether Durk Banks spends the rest of his life in federal prison.

Big Durk Questions Witness Testimony

Banks used a simple hypothetical to explain why he believes the testimony presented against his son has been unreliable.

He described two people sitting at a table with a clearly visible can in front of them. If both witnessed the same thing, he argued, their basic descriptions should match.

“If me and you sitting here, we see this can on the table, me and you can testify that can was on the table,” Banks said. “The can is white and gray. But you get in there and say, ‘I ain’t see a can on there’? It’s the only thing on the table!”

“Ain’t nobody’s story consistent,” he added.

The criticism appears aimed in part at testimony from former members and associates of Durk’s Only the Family circle who have testified for the government.

Prosecutors entered the trial with three cooperating defendants who pleaded guilty: Kacey “OTF Jam” Hester, Kavon “OTF Vonni” Grant and Keith “Flacka” Jones.

Their testimony has become central to the government's effort to connect Durk personally to the alleged 2022 murder-for-hire plot.

Defense attorneys have spent substantial portions of the trial challenging those witnesses’ credibility, highlighting inconsistencies and arguing that cooperators have incentives to provide testimony favorable to prosecutors in hopes of receiving more favorable treatment at sentencing.

That does not automatically make their testimony unreliable. Jurors will ultimately determine how much weight to give each witness.

Big Durk believes they should give it very little.

“I’m praying that the jury sees through that weak evidence and these witnesses up here,” he said.

Prosecutors Say Durk Was Behind the Plot

Federal prosecutors have presented a dramatically different interpretation of the evidence.

Durk is accused of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot targeting rapper Quando Rondo, whose legal name is Tyquian Bowman, following the November 2020 killing of Durk’s close friend and fellow Chicago rapper King Von.

Von was killed during a confrontation involving members of Rondo’s entourage outside an Atlanta nightclub.

Prosecutors allege Durk subsequently offered money or other compensation to have Bowman killed.

The alleged retaliation culminated in an August 2022 shooting near the Beverly Center in Los Angeles.

Bowman survived.

His cousin, Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson, was killed.

The government does not allege that Durk personally traveled to Los Angeles and opened fire.

Instead, prosecutors argue that he used his money and influence to make the alleged attack possible.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Yanniello summarized that theory by telling jurors that Durk “used his money, his power, and his influence” in an effort to have Quando Rondo killed.

“No one is saying he was the one on the ground with a gun in his hand in Los Angeles,” Yanniello said, according to reporting from the trial. “But you know this story doesn’t happen without him, and it doesn’t make sense without his leadership.”

Durk has pleaded not guilty.

His defense maintains that he neither ordered nor financed the shooting.

Defense Says Durk Is Being Blamed for Actions of Others

Durk’s attorneys have sought to separate the rapper from the actions of people around him.

During opening statements, defense attorney Drew Findling’s team argued that former Durk assistant Kavon Grant was responsible for much of the logistical activity prosecutors have attempted to connect to Durk.

Defense attorney Jennifer Bonjean Goldberg told jurors that Grant booked hotels, secured vehicles and purchased ski masks before the shooting.

“Mr. Banks had nothing to do with it,” Goldberg told the jury. “He was not there, he was not connected to it.”

She also attacked one of the central elements of the government's murder-for-hire theory: the alleged payment.

“This is a murder-for-hire allegation where nobody gets paid,” Goldberg argued. “There is no evidence because that evidence against Mr. Banks does not exist.”

Prosecutors dispute that characterization and have argued that the evidence, taken together, shows Durk was directing and financially supporting the alleged retaliation.

That disagreement is now approaching the jury.

Big Durk Has Been a Constant Presence at Trial

Banks Sr. has been visible outside the courthouse throughout his son’s trial and has previously spoken publicly about the emotional toll the case has taken on their family.

His perspective also carries an unusually personal connection to the federal criminal justice system.

Banks spent approximately 26 years in federal prison on drug charges before his release.

“What I went through for the last 26 years I don’t wish that on my worst enemy,” he told ABC7 earlier during Durk’s trial. “Definitely not my son.”

At the time, Banks said he continued envisioning the day he could walk out of the courthouse with his son as a free man.

“Every time I look at him in court, I see that day,” Banks said. “That day is coming.”

Now the case is approaching the point where jurors will determine whether that belief becomes reality.

Both sides have rested.

Closing arguments are set to begin Sept. 8, after which the jury is expected to receive instructions and begin deliberating.

Prosecutors will argue that the evidence establishes Durk used his position, money and associates to orchestrate a deadly retaliation against Quando Rondo.

The defense will argue that the government has attempted to build a case around unreliable cooperators, circumstantial evidence and the actions of other people.

Outside the courthouse, Durk’s father has already made clear where he stands.

To Big Durk, the witnesses and evidence prosecutors are relying on are simply “so weak.”

Soon, the jury will decide what it believes.