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Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
National
Jason Meisner and Megan Crepeau

R. Kelly trial vlogger charged after rival accused her of assault near courthouse

CHICAGO — An R. Kelly fan who has been posting videos about the disgraced singer’s ongoing criminal trial was arrested by Chicago police Thursday after another fan accused her of assault.

Sylvia Parks Tumusiime, 55, of Covington, Georgia, was charged with one misdemeanor count of battery, according to Chicago police.

According to police, the alleged victim, a 45-year-old woman, reported 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 she was walking back to her parked vehicle when Tumusime approached and struck her on the left side of the face. The victim declined treatment at the scene, according to police.

About 7:30 a.m. Thursday, the victim contacted police, saying she saw her assailant outside the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, where Kelly’s trial was about to get underway for the day.

“Officers responded, at which time the offender was placed into custody,” police said in a statement to The Chicago Tribune.

Tumusime is a well-known vlogger who posts commentary on Kelly’s case under the YouTube moniker “Infamous Sylvia.” She could not immediately be reached for comment.

The woman who made the assault report, meanwhile, has also been posting video updates of the proceedings. She was ticketed with a misdemeanor on Thursday morning for failing to adhere to the courthouse’s signs restricting use of recording devices.

The incident was one of several where attendees of Kelly’s trial on child pornography and obstruction charges have been accused of misbehavior.

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.

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