Nicole Fegan is used to being in court, but now the attorney, who represents a defendant in the “Young Thug” gang case at Atlanta, is facing gang-related criminal charges of her own.

Ms. Fegan, 34, only recently considered a rising star in Atlanta’s legal circles, has been arrested and charged with participation in criminal street gang activity and criminal solicitation to commit the offense of tampering with evidence. Her charges come after Atlanta police say they received information that Ms. Fegan contacted a suspect in a 2022 shooting to inform him there was a warrant out for his arrest.

“Fegan provided information she had learned during a preliminary hearing related to the shooting and advised the suspect to dispose of his phone as police were going to arrest him,” police said. “Investigators confirmed Fegan was not representing the suspect she called.”

This isn’t the first time Ms. Fegan has been on the other side of a criminal charge. In fact, it was her experience being charged with “intent to distribute” in college that pointed her to law school in the first place, because the experience led her to believe the justice system could be profoundly unjust.

“The state prosecutor really puts your back against the wall,” she said in a 2018 interview. “You either have to do what they say or you fight, and if you fight there’s such a risk involved that most people don’t.”

Fast-forward to today, and Ms. Fegan is awaiting next steps in her case after being released from jail on a $40,000 bond. It’s unclear what her charges mean for Tenquarius Mender — a former co-defendant in the wide-ranging racketeering trial against the chart-topping rapper Young Thug, legal name Jeffery Lamar Williams — who’s accused along with several other co-dependents of being part of the violent YSL gang. 

Ms. Fegan was representing Mr. Mender when his case was severed from the Young Thug trial in May 2023, meaning he’ll be tried separately. The reason being that Ms. Fegan was pregnant and preparing to take maternity leave at the time, and the Young Thug trial, which is now under way, was expected to last for months. That high-profile trial is being prosecuted by the Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis, who’s best known for her other current role, prosecuting President Trump for alleged election interference in Georgia.

“My client agrees it’s in his best interest to sever at this time,” Ms. Fegan said last year. “Especially since there’s no foreseeing when opening statements will actually commence. He’s supportive of my journey into motherhood.”

It’s unclear who will be Mr. Mender’s attorney when his case eventually comes to trial, but it’s certain that Ms. Fegan has some explaining to do. In the meantime, her unorthodox approach to how she conducts herself as a lawyer is being both lauded and criticized. 

In her most recent post to Instagram — a platform she readily uses for her client-outreach strategy — the defense attorney shared a video of her saying: “People play gangsta and police games at the same time, that s— is weird, that s— is weird.” The ensuing comments that came after her arrest have been from fans and critics alike. 

“If she beat her own case and get Young Thug free the streets gonna hold her down forever,” one Instagram user commented on the video.

“Whatever they say she did, she did that s—,” another user commented.

“She may be a thorough attorney. The kind that can relate to the struggle, that a lot of brothers/ sisters go through and may be good @ winning cases left and right. But, because of this one situation, that has now gotten her booked, she has now, very likely, put herself in the scope of the feds. The case is on such a national scale, where it’s likely, the feds are gonna step in and scrutinize every part of her life. Hope she doesn’t have any dirty laundry,” another user wrote.

Ms. Fegan has always had quite a presence on Instagram since becoming an attorney, and people know her as “Ms. Got Proof” — a name that grew to fame after she successfully represented Quincy Lamont Williams, otherwise known as rapper Peewee Longway. She’s amassed more than 80,000 followers on Instagram and prides herself on being genuine on the platform. Ms. Fegan has been known to post videos of herself mouthing the words to rap songs, photos of her posing with guns and stacks of money, which she’s said are props, and posts celebrating her clients’ wins. 

“I don’t ever network,” Ms. Fegan said in 2018. “I just do Instagram marketing.”

In that same 2018 story highlighting Ms. Fegan’s work, the Atlanta criminal defense attorney she interned for during law school called her the “Lebron James of the legal world” and applauded her ability to use Instagram as a way to connect with clients.

“Social media has allowed an avenue for clients to develop that trust with their lawyers,” Parag Shah reportedly said.

Time will tell if that same social media presence will help or haunt her as her own case unfolds.