Embattled R&B star Chris Brown has been placed under the custody of U.S. Marshals as he makes his way to Washington, D.C. in shackles onboard a plane.

The singer was picked up from a Los Angeles jail and escorted to a holding facility in San Bernardino on Wednesday (02Apr14), prior to his long journey to the capital, where he is facing trial for misdemeanor assault relating to a fight outside a hotel in October (13).

Brown, who was jailed last month (Mar14) after violating his probation in connection to a 2009 assault conviction, is expected to board a plane on Thursday (03Apr14), but it won't be a direct flight to Washington, D.C. - the flight has multiple stops planned, including one in Oklahoma, so the U.S. Marshals can pick up other prisoners along the way, according to TMZ.com. Website editors report the group will not actually arrive in D.C. until Sunday (06Apr14).

Brown's lawyer, Mark Geragos, is due to appear before a D.C. judge on Monday (07Apr14) in a bid to have his client's charges dropped ahead of the trial start date on 17 April (14).

If the request is denied, Brown will have to remain in jail until his day in court.

The Kiss Kiss hitmaker's problems began last month March (14) when he was asked to leave a Malibu rehabilitation center, where he had been seeking court-ordered anger management treatment.