Last month, news broke the R. Kelly had been attacked in his Chicago jail cell by a fellow inmate. The rapper’s lawyer claimed demonstrators protesting Kelly’s court case outside of the prison had led to the entire building going on “lockdown,” meaning inmates were not allowed to go outside. One inmate in particular did not take kindly to the lockdown and went through with his plan to jump Kelly inside his cell. Kelly pushed to be released on bail out of concern for his safety, but instead, the attacker was simply moved to another facility.
According to TMZ, federal prosecutors have responded to Kelly’s safety concerns. Rather than going through with his wish to be released on bail, agents say the attack was a one-off event and opted to instead separate the two inmates. Because prosecutors see Kelly as a “threat to the public,” he is to remain in Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center while his attacker is being moved to Michigan.
Following the original incident, Kelly claimed prison guards were privy to the attack. Kelly’s lawyer reported that the singer had overheard the inmate discussing his plans and warned the guards of the impending attack, but they didn’t heed his claims.
While the prison guards weren’t on his side, apparently Kanye West is. Last week, West tweeted his opinion about Kelly and Bill Cosby being “taken down” by white media companies who produced damning documentaries. “There has never been a Black media company that would take down a white celebrity.”
