An R. Kelly fan who has been blogging about the disgraced singer’s ongoing criminal trial was arrested by Chicago police Thursday after another fan accused her of assault.
The incident was one of several where attendees of Kelly’s trial on child pornography and obstruction charges have been accused of misbehavior.
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According to Chicago police, the alleged victim, a 45-year-old woman, reported to police that she had been assaulted by a woman she knows about 6:15 a.m. Wednesday in the 100 block of North State Street.
The victim said the attacker struck her on the left side of the face, but she declined treatment at the scene.
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About 7:30 a.m. Thursday, the victim contacted police, saying she saw her assailant outside the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in the 200 block of South Dearborn Street, where Kelly’s trial was about to get underway for the day.
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“Officers responded, at which time the offender was placed into custody,” police said in a statement to the Tribune.
Charges were pending as of Thursday, police said.
The alleged assailant is a well-known blogger who posts commentary on Kelly’s case under the moniker “Infamous Sylvia.” The Tribune is not naming her because she has not been charged with a crime.
The woman who made the assault report, meanwhile, was ticketed with a misdemeanor this morning for failing to adhere to the courthouse’s signs restricting use of recording devices.
At least two attendees of the Kelly trial have been issued tickets for failing to follow courthouse rules since the case began last month, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.