The streets aren't here for R Kelly's request for bail amid Covid-19 fears

Social media users are beaming with joy after a federal judge denied American R&B singer R Kelly's bail request on Tuesday.

According to Forbes, the star submitted his bail request in March after he feared he'd contract Covid-19 while in prison.

However, his request was denied by US district judge Ann Donnelly of Brooklyn, New York, citing the singer as a potential flight risk.

“The defendant is currently in custody because of the risks that he will flee or attempt to obstruct, threaten or intimidate prospective witnesses. The defendant has not explained how those risks have changed,” the district judge wrote in her denial.

Rolling Stones reported that the judge added, “While I am sympathetic to the defendant’s understandable anxiety about Covid-19, he has not established compelling reasons warranting his release. At present, there are no confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the MCC in Chicago.”

Donnelly explained that the Bureau of Prisons had already undertaken measures to protect inmates, by providing soap, suspending legal and social visits, as well as inmate facility transfers, and screening and testing being made available.

“The defendant was also not among the at-risk groups identified by the Centers for Disease Control.”

The Associated Press reported that federal prosecutors stated prisons around the country have taken steps to prevent transmission of the virus and that an inmate’s “generalised risk” of catching it does not justify their release.

Over on social media, the streets were celebrating the news and users flooded Twitter with messages praising the US justice system.