Hotboii is free again after being released from prison on racketeering charges last week, all thanks to his lawyer, who argued that the rapper was promoting a hashtag and not a gang to help get the case dismissed.
Hotboii's lawyer takes to social media for RICO dismissal
On Wednesday (September 18), Orlando Sentinel released a report on attorney Lyle Mazin's defense tactics to get the RICO case against Hotboii dismissed. Mazin said the 24-year-old Florida rapper's RICO charge was based on two offenses: using electronic communications to promote gangs and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Hotboii was accused of using Instagram to promote guns and gang-referencing lyrics and having a gun in his vehicle. He is alleged to have been the leader of Orlando's 438 Gang, which was reportedly at war with the Orlando-based Army Gang, allegedly led by 9lokknine.
In court, Mazin argued that 438 was not a gang, but a hashtag used to represent Hotboii's neighborhood in the Pine Hills area of Orlando. The defense insisted the rhymer was promoting the hashtag, not a gang, in his Instagram posts. Hotboii's Instagram handle is @itshotboii438.
Mazin compared Hotboii's actions to similar promotional moves that The Notorious BIG and Kodak Black would make. “He wasn't promoting a gang,” Mazin said. “He promoted his label and his music. That's what he did. It's the equivalent of Biggie Smalls, or Kodak Black, or any major artist promoting their music.”
As for the gun, Mazin further claimed that it belonged to Hotboii's security to protect the artist from threats to his life, allegedly made by the rival gang.
While the RICO charges were dropped, Hotboii agreed to plead guilty to a single count of conspiracy as part of a deal with prosecutors.
In July 2021, Hotboii, born Javarri Walker, was arrested and booked into the Orange County Sheriff's Office in Orlando, Florida on charges of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization – Racketeering and Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering in connection with a larger RICO investigation . On September 11, he was released after two years in prison. Hotboii dropped the video aptly titled “9/11 (First Day Out)” a few days after returning home.
XXL Hotboii's attorney has been contacted for comment.
