R Kelly stomped on head, nearly stabbed by inmate with 'F**k The Feds' tattoo on his forehead, says attorney
An inmate who attacked disgraced music star R Kelly reportedly tried to stab him with a pen, per court records. A motion filed by Kelly's attorney, obtained by Page Six, also revealed that the attacker has a "F**k The Feds" tattoo across his forehead. The attack was detailed by the defense attorney in a bid to convince a Chicago court to grant bail to the former R&B star.
Kelly, who is currently held at the city's notorious Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC), was sleeping in his cell on Wednesday when the "violent" inmate reportedly crept in began “stomping on [Kelly’s] head, repeatedly,” per lawyer Steven Greenberg.
The attorney alleged that the attacker had an "ink pen with him that he was going to use to stab Mr. Kelly." However, others were somehow able to grab the inmate before he could assault Kelly with the makeshift weapon. “This is an inmate that never should have been anywhere near Mr. Kelly, an individual who is charged with the most violent of crimes, and one who plainly has no respect for the rules, he has the phrase ‘Fu** The Feds’ tattooed on his face,” the motion added.
According to the report, the inmate was frustrated with jail lockdowns caused due to protests over R Kelly. “To-date, there have been at least a half-dozen of these displays of support outside of the MCC, always peaceful,” the attorney continued. "These unnecessary institutional lockdowns have needlessly promoted animosity towards Mr. Kelly. Notably, the institution does not go into lockdown during other, violent, downtown protests or during citywide looting."
Greenberg has proposed that his client be allowed to live with his girlfriend in an apartment while awaiting trial. The 'I Believe I Can Fly' hitmaker is remanded in custody on several counts of sex abuse, albeit he has strongly denied any wrongdoing. Citing the pandemic, Kelly has repeatedly requested to be released from prison. However, all his requests have been turned down by the courts.
According to the report, the star previously pleaded to be kept away from other prisoners "who may want to teach him a lesson for his alleged crimes," per The Sun. Greenberg later revealed that Kelly had subsequently been placed in solitary confinement, saying it was the only place guards could actually "protect him."
That said, the 28-story maximum security prison is unique in the system considering every cell has a window offering a glimpse of the outside world. "Its exercise yard is on the roof and can be accessed by inmates every other day for just two hours a time," according to the British newspaper. The jail is also said to be "overcrowded and understaffed."
Last December, one prisoner died after his throat was slit by another inmate during a fight. Guards found his body at 4.30 am on a fateful day, immediately spurring an internal investigation at the holding house. And in 2018, a former MCC guard admitted to smuggling drugs to a Latin Kings gang leader who was incarcerated at the prison. Felipe Zamora paid the official thousands of dollars to smuggle contraband including synthetic marijuana into the facility, per an FBI search warrant.