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R. Kelly and Diddy have something in common … both men have been accused of racketeering and sex trafficking — and even though the two aren’t exactly friends, Kelly says he feels for Diddy, who’s currently on trial, and says Black entertainers as a whole are under siege by the feds.
TMZ caught up with one of Kelly’s lawyers, Beau Brindley, who spoke to us about his famous client, who was just placed in solitary confinement after receiving death threats from white supremacists in a federal prison in North Carolina.
Brindley points out Kelly and Diddy are not friends — and “far from it” — but Kelly still has sympathy for Diddy over his current situation … as everyone knows, Diddy is facing decades behind bars if convicted on racketeering, sex trafficking and other charges at his federal criminal trial in NYC.
The attorney then goes after law enforcement … telling us the feds are specifically targeting Black entertainers and judging them on their sexual preferences. He says the feds are abusing criminal statutes by prosecuting them for what happens behind closed doors.
Brindley also talked to us about wanting Trump to pardon the R&B singer. He says he’s hopeful Kelly makes the president’s pardon list and thinks Kelly might have a good chance since Trump knows what it’s like to be on the federal radar.
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As we reported this week, Brindley filed a motion asking for Kelly to be released from prison after discovering white supremacists were plotting to allegedly murder his client. Prison officials put Kelly in solitary confinement for his own safety after the extremist group also threatened to poison his food, making Kelly too paranoid to eat. But, Brinley says, he wants Kelly out of isolation and prison altogether, requesting that a judge grant Kelly home confinement. The judge has yet to rule on the motion.
In 2021, Kelly was convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking at his New York federal trial. A year later, he was found guilty of child pornography and enticement of minors for sex in an Illinois federal court. He’s now serving a combined 31 years in prison.
Meanwhile, Diddy’s trial is in its 22nd day of testimony, so we’ll have to wait and see a while longer whether Diddy joins the convicted celebrities club.
