June 13, 2025: R&B singer R. Kelly has reportedly been placed in solitary confinement following the filing of an emergency court motion that alleges he is facing severe threats to his life behind bars. Currently serving a 30-year sentence in a North Carolina federal prison for racketeering and sex trafficking charges, Kelly’s legal team is now appealing directly to former U.S. President Donald Trump for a pardon.
Attorney Beau Brindley, representing the disgraced artist, told Variety that they have reached out to individuals within Trump’s circle, claiming the former president is the only one with both “the courage and the power” to stop what they describe as a “deeply corrupt prosecution.”
Also read: Is Dua Lipa Living Her Own Real Life Rom Com?
In a dramatic filing, Brindley alleges that prison authorities attempted to arrange Kelly’s assassination by using another inmate. The document includes a sworn statement from Mikeal Glenn Stine, a terminally ill member of the Aryan Brotherhood, who says prison officials offered him his freedom in exchange for killing Kelly. Stine claims he was transferred to Kelly’s facility for that reason but chose instead to warn the singer. A planned meeting between Stine and Brindley was abruptly cancelled, and Stine’s current location remains unknown.
Since the filing, Brindley alleges that Kelly has been subjected to inhumane conditions in solitary confinement. According to him, Kelly has been denied food, kept in filthy surroundings, and prevented from contacting his family. The attorney insists this is not a case of protective custody, but retaliatory punishment for speaking out.
Brindley says he will be adding new evidence to support claims of “cruel and unusual punishment,” which he hopes will not only protect Kelly from further harm but also help overturn his conviction.
A federal court has scheduled a hearing on June 20 to decide whether the emergency motion, filed in North Carolina rather than in Chicago where Kelly was originally tried and sentenced, falls under proper jurisdiction.