R. Kelly is pulling out all the stops in a desperate attempt to get out of federal prison, including asking former President Donald Trump for help.
The disgraced R&B singer, currently serving a 30-year sentence for federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges, has filed an emergency motion claiming that Bureau of Prisons officials tried to have him murdered, and now he’s begging Trump for a pardon or sentence commutation.
According to his attorney Beau Brindley, discussions with Trump’s inner circle are already underway. “We are in open discussions with people close to President Trump. And those discussions have expanded and intensified since we filed our motion,” Brindley told People. He added, “We believe that President Trump is the only person with the courage to help us.” Kelly, who once lived in Trump Tower in Chicago, doesn’t have a personal relationship with the former president but is hoping Trump’s controversial streak will work in his favor.
The emergency motion contains shocking claims, including an alleged assassination plot by three senior Bureau of Prisons officials. An inmate named Mikeal Glenn Stine, a self-proclaimed Aryan Brotherhood commissioner, declared under oath that he was recruited to murder Kelly in exchange for a chance to escape custody. Stine, who says he has terminal cancer, claimed officials transferred him from Arizona to the same prison where Kelly is held, FCI Butner in North Carolina, and placed him in Kelly’s unit specifically for the hit.
According to BOP records, Stine’s transfer indeed happened. But in a plot twist straight out of a thriller, Stine says he had a change of heart and warned Kelly instead. After the filing went public, Kelly’s lawyer says the singer was immediately placed in solitary confinement. “He cannot make phone calls to his family. He has no access to commissary. He has spiders crawling over him while he tries to sleep,” Brindley claimed. Kelly is now afraid to even eat prison food, believing it might be poisoned.
The Bureau of Prisons and the White House have both declined to comment, but Trump has previously expressed openness to reviewing pardon requests from celebrities. When asked in May whether he’d consider a pardon for Sean “Diddy” Combs, who’s facing similar federal charges, Trump said, “If I think someone was mistreated, it wouldn’t matter whether they like me or don’t.”
Kelly’s legal team is banking on that same sentiment to get their client out. “He is not safe in federal custody,” Brindley said. “And to keep him in prison while he is under threat like this is cruel and unusual punishment.” According to him, this isn’t the first time Kelly has been attacked in prison, and this alleged murder plot only adds to the urgency.
The whole situation is a surreal mix of legal drama, celebrity downfall, and political desperation. While the details sound unbelievable, they’re all part of a legal motion currently in the federal court system. Whether Trump will actually step in and help Kelly remains to be seen, but the singer’s team clearly believes it’s their best shot.
As of now, Kelly remains locked up in solitary, fearful and paranoid, while the world watches to see if Trump throws him a lifeline, or if this plea for clemency will be just another chapter in Kelly’s long and scandal-ridden downfall.
Jamie Wells has a knack for getting the inside scoop on Hollywood’s biggest stars and up-and-coming talent. With a sharp eye for industry trends and an ear for viral moments, Jamie covers everything from red-carpet events to behind-the-scenes drama in movies, TV, and celebrity culture.
