R&B singer and songwriter R.
Kelly has allegedly been moved to solitary confinement after getting attacked by a fellow inmate while awaiting trial for his federal sex crime charges.
According to TMZ, a source has informed them that the 53-year-old ‘Ignition’ hitmaker was jumped by another Metropolitan Correctional Center inmate who was allegedly upset over the lockdowns caused by the singer’s supporters who have been gathering outside the prison.
As the outlet reported, Kelly was attacked while resting on his bed. Reportedly, the guards quickly managed to break up the fight whereas the singer wasn’t seriously injured during the brawl.
“I’m still very concerned because sure this time the guards were able to quickly stop something from happening but what happens if someone goes in his cell with a shank or something like that? Or the guards are busy doing something else? We were fortunate this time but who’s to say next time?” the singer’s attorney, Steven Greenberg, said in an interview with The New York Post.
Explaining the probable reason behind the anger directed at the 53-year-old, Greenberg added:
“My understanding is, every time there is a pro-R. Kelly protest outside of the jail, they lock down the entire facility.
“When they do this, inmates don’t get their commissary, they don’t get their shower, stuff like that and since they’re fairly sporadic anyway, they get upset. So they’re penalizing everyone in the facility because people are protesting in support of Kelly.”
Previously, R. Kelly, who has pleaded not guilty to his charges, filed a request for an early release in which he claimed he was pre-diabetic and therefore at a higher risk of catching COVID-19.
US District Judge Ann Donnelly denied the request, which represented the singer’s third attempt at getting out of jail early, saying “nearly one in three American adults” are pre-diabetic.
“I do not agree that a diagnosis of pre-diabetes presents a compelling reason for the defendant’s release,” Judge Ann Donnelly said.
“While the CDC has identified diabetes as a risk factor for COVID-19, the same is not true for pre-diabetes, a condition that affects nearly one in three American adults.”
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