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Attorneys for embattled R&B singer Robert Sylvester “R. Kelly” Kelly have submitted an emergency motion to federal court and made a public appeal to former President Donald Trump, alleging their client’s life is in grave danger behind bars—and requesting his immediate transfer to home detention.
The filing asserts that Kelly, 58, who is serving a 30-year federal sentence for racketeering and sex trafficking, is under threat from both officials and inmates at FCI Butner Medium I in North Carolina. According to the motion, three Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employees allegedly conspired with an Aryan Brotherhood inmate—Mikeal Glenn
Stine, who is said to have terminal cancer—to plan Kelly’s murder. In exchange, Stine would allegedly have been granted freedom to spend his remaining days outside prison. Stine reportedly met Kelly after being transferred to the same prison unit, and instead of carrying out the murder, confessed the plot to the singer. The motion quotes prison officials as saying: “You need to do what you came here for”. The legal team claims in the court filings that Kelly recently received warnings—from one unnamed BOP official—not to eat in shared prison areas due to possible poisoning attempts.
“The risk to Mr. Kelly’s life is imminent,” said his attorney Beau Brindley. “To keep him in prison under these conditions is cruel and unusual punishment.” Brindley emphasized that Stine has offered to take a polygraph and reveal further details to support his sworn declaration.
In a strategic and bold move, Kelly’s lawyers bypassed the usual clemency channels and directly petitioned President Trump to intervene, citing his recent commutations of high-profile figures like Larry Hoover and speculation around Sean “Diddy” Combs, arguing Trump “has shown the courage and willingness to stand up to these people and actually stop the corruption in its tracks”.
At a press conference in Chicago, Brindley urged immediate action from Trump, saying Kelly doesn’t have the time for the ordinary pardon or commutation process. “We will ask President Trump to help us,” Brindley stated. Federal prosecutors responded by asking the court to seal parts of the filing, citing concerns about disclosing minor victims’ identities. The Bureau of Prisons has not issued a comment, and it remains unclear whether Trump or his office will respond.
