“Mr. Kelly remains incarcerated with blood clots in his lungs,” Brindley stated. “Every minute without the pulmonary embolectomy that Duke University doctors recommended puts his life in danger. The situation is dire.”
The initial motion filed by Brindley included serious allegations — including a supposed plot by federal prison officials to have Kelly killed. It featured a sworn declaration from fellow inmate Mikeal Glenn Stine, who alleged he was approached at an Arizona facility and offered incentives to assassinate Kelly. Stine claimed he was then transferred to Kelly’s unit in North Carolina to carry out the job.
Stine’s credibility has been questioned, as he has a long history of litigation — having filed more than 100 legal actions — and a criminal conviction in 2015 for threatening federal officials. Still, Brindley says the threat was credible enough to act.
Following the filing of the emergency motion, Brindley claims that Kelly was placed in solitary confinement as retaliation. In a subsequent filing, he alleged that prison staff then gave Kelly a dangerously incorrect combination of medications, possibly intended to cause an overdose. Kelly was reportedly hospitalized as a result.
The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has declined to comment publicly. However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Julien defended the agency’s actions, stating Kelly was moved into solitary confinement to protect him from potential harm — not to punish him.
Julien also took aim at Kelly in his legal response, writing: “Kelly is a serial child molester whose criminal abuse of children dates back to the early 1990s. He has never accepted responsibility for his crimes — and likely never will.”
R. Kelly is currently serving a 30-year sentence following his conviction in the Eastern District of New York on racketeering charges tied to sexual exploitation of children, forced labor, and violations of federal sex trafficking laws. His crimes involved the abuse of numerous women and minors over decades, many of whom were transported across state lines under coercion.
Brindley now says he’s preparing to file a motion to vacate Kelly’s convictions in Illinois based on what he describes as newly uncovered evidence. He also intends to request Kelly’s release on bond while that motion is pending.
In a separate but related effort, Brindley has confirmed that he’s actively pursuing a presidential pardon for Kelly — directly from President Donald Trump. Although Kelly has no official connection to the president, he previously lived in Trump Tower in Chicago, and Brindley claims to be in contact with members of Trump’s inner circle.
“We are exploring all legal and constitutional avenues,” Brindley told PEOPLE. “We will not rest until Mr. Kelly is free.”
Despite the court’s recent denial and the ongoing skepticism surrounding the claims of assassination plots and medical neglect, Brindley remains adamant that his client is both innocent and in grave danger.
Legal experts say that Kelly’s team faces an uphill battle, not only because of the severity of his convictions but also due to the extraordinary nature of the claims being made. Still, with the possibility of new filings and political intervention on the horizon, the saga surrounding R. Kelly — once a global music icon, now a convicted felon fighting for his life — is far from over.