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R. Kelly's manager has been charged after placing a threatening phone call to a Manhattan movie theater in an attempt to shut down a 2018 screening of a docuseries about the singer's sexual misconduct allegations.
The United States Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York charged Donnell Russell with two counts of threatening physical harm by interstate communication and conspiracy to do the same, the office confirmed on Friday.
Russell, 45, placed the phone call in an attempt to "prevent the December 4, 2018 screening of a docuseries exploring allegations to R. Kelly's sexual abuse of minor girls and adult women," according to the office's press release.
PROSECUTORS CHARGE 3 ALLEGED R. KELLY ACCOMPLICES OF THREATENING, INTIMIDATING ACCUSERS
In this June 26, 2019 file photo, R&B singer R. Kelly, center, arrives at the Leighton Criminal Court building for an arraignment on sex-related felonies in Chicago. (AP)
“As alleged, Donnell Russell used threats of violence to stop a screening of a docuseries devoted to exploring allegations of sexual abuse against women and minor girls by the recording artist R. Kelly. By allegedly threatening a shooting at the theater, Russell prevented the screening, which was attended by a number of R. Kelly’s alleged victims. Threats of gun violence aimed at intimidating and silencing victims of sexual abuse are unlawful as well as unacceptable. We are committed to aggressively investigating and prosecuting such crimes," Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a statement.
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. was involved in Russell's charging, stating that Russell's alleged action "defies logic that a threat like the one alleged here could stop victims from speaking out about their alleged abuse."
"The violence Mr. Russell allegedly threatened succeeded in shutting down one airing of the documentary, but he was unable to silence the women featured in the film. Each and every day, we do everything in our power to make sure victims of sexual abuse have the opportunity to be heard, and will continue to do so regardless of those who allegedly use violence as a means to stop them," Sweeney Jr. continued.
The complaint filed against Russell was unsealed in Manhattan federal court. It alleges that R. Kelly's manager worked with another individual associated with the "Ignition" singer to discourage an executive at the Lifetime channel from airing the "Surviving R. Kelly" series.
In this Sept. 17, 2019, file photo, R. Kelly appears during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune via AP)
Russell also admitted to sending the NeueHouse theater in New York a "cease and desist" letter to try to prevent the screening. After his attempt failed, Russell contacted multiple law enforcement agencies near the theater and ultimately contacted a NeueHouse staffer directly through a landline associated with his home in Chicago, Ill., the complaint alleges.
In the phone call, Russell threatened that "there was a person in the theater with a gun prepared to shoot up the Screening," the complaint states.
R. KELLY'S CRISIS MANAGER STEPS DOWN AFTER SAYING HE WOULDN'T LET HIS DAUGHTER NEAR SINGER
The screening was ultimately canceled and the theater was evacuated after the employee called 911. Russell's case is being overseen by the U.S. State Attorney's Office's Public Corruption Unit. He is expected to appear in court on Friday.
The charges against Russell come just one day after prosecutors charged three of alleged R. Kelly accomplices of threatening and intimidating the musician's accusers.
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The Grammy Award-winning musician has pleaded not guilty to dozens of state and federal sexual misconduct charges in Illinois, Minnesota and New York.
The charges include sexual assault and leading a racketeering scheme aimed at supplying Kelly with girls. Kelly also is accused of having unprotected sex with a minor in 2015 without disclosing he had herpes.
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