*Lawyer Christopher Darden is stepping down as the defense attorney of Eric Holder, the man accused of fatally shooting Nipsey Hussle in Los Angeles on March 31.
The beloved rapper and entrepreneur was murdered in broad daylight outside of his Marathon Clothing store in South Los Angeles. 29-year-old Holder was apprehended by police within 48 hours after the shooting and charged in L.A. County with one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. He is reportedly being held in solitary confinement on $5 million bail.
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Darden, a former prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson trial, says he has received death threats against himself and his family since becoming involved with the case, Complex reports. Meek Mill even took to Twitter to slam his decision to represent Holder, a move he described as “self hate” within “the black community.”
“As self hate continues in the black community #housenigga,” Meek tweeted. “We at war with the system and the streets!!! #forevernip.”
As we previously reported, Darden’s daughter Jeneé also responded to the hate she received on social media over her father’s involvement with the case.
“Instead of attacking me and others who have nothing to do with this case, channel that energy into continuing Nipsey’s legacy in strengthening our community and uplifting each other,” she said in a since-deleted Instagram post.
On Friday, Darden filed a motion to withdraw as the reported gang member’s defense attorney, according to TMZ. During Holder’s court appearance in Los Angeles in April, his attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. If convicted, he faces
He also announced the decision in a Facebook post Friday morning, the L.A. Times reports.
“After centuries of a history of black men hung from trees without trial, or after the thousands of cases of black men tried, convicted and executed without counsel … I cannot understand why in 2019 some people would deny a black man his 6th Amendment right to counsel of his choice,” he wrote. “Or why defending such a man should invite threats not only against me but against my children too.”
When asked why he took on the case, Darden told The Times outside of an L.A. court following a hearing with Holder on Thursday (May 10), “I defend poor people — that’s all I do. And he’s definitely poor.”
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