After months of protests surrounding rapper Meek Mill’s incarceration, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office has agreed to give the North Philly native a new trial, NBC Philadelphia reports.

Last November, the “1942 Flows” rapper was sentenced to two to four years in prison for violating his probation. Many found the sentencing to be harsh, especially since Mill’s violations came from mediating an airport fight and doing wheelies on a motorcycle for a music video shoot. 

Judge Genece Brinkley was met with swift backlash and even became the subject of an FBI investigation after allegations arose of her having personal motives for Mill’s cruel sentencing. The judge denied the rapper’s request for release during Monday’s status hearing, but it was also during this hearing that Meek Mill learned he would receive a new trial.

Following the Monday morning announcement, fans and criminal justice reform advocates gathered to celebrate the decision outside the Criminal Justice Center in downtown Philadelphia.

Among supporters in the crowd was Mill’s 6-year-old son who Fox 29 Philadelphia quoted as saying, “I miss my dad very much.”
criminal justice system reformMeek Mill