R. Kelly Reportedly Files Trump Clemency Request as He Serves 30-Year Sentence

R. Kelly has reportedly taken his bid for freedom to President Trump, formally asking for his 30-year sentence on sex crimes to be commuted.

On Tuesday, July 14, the Chicago Tribune reported that the imprisoned singer submitted a clemency request to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, the Department of Justice office that reviews official applications for executive clemency before they reach the White House. The filing arrives 13 months after Kelly’s attorney Beau Brindley made a separate push for his immediate release, arguing that a member of the Aryan Brotherhood had been recruited by prison officials to kill Kelly.

Brindley laid out that claim in an emergency motion and a press conference, saying Kelly’s First, Sixth and Eighth Amendment rights were being violated. “These are people that seek to kill Mr. Kelly rather than allow the corrupt criminal conduct of those who manufactured his convictions be exposed,” Brindley told reporters after the filing. He also made an informal appeal to Trump to intervene and release Kelly to home detention.

“R. Kelly does not have the time, with his life in danger, to go through the normal channels,” Brindley said. “I will ask President Trump to help us, because we need him.”

Kelly is currently serving his sentence at FCI Butner in North Carolina after being convicted in 2022 in separate cases involving sex trafficking and sex crimes against minors. Under the current timeline, he is scheduled for release on Jan. 31, 2045, when he will be 78.

XXL has reached out to Kelly’s attorney and a White House representative for comment.