CHICAGO (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds says he wants to plead guilty to misdemeanor federal charges of failing to file a tax return.

Reynolds says in a handwritten filing posted Tuesday that he wants “to come to court at the earliest time possible” to enter his guilty plea. A status hearing is scheduled for May 19. Reynolds is acting as his own attorney.

Reynolds was arrested April 11 at an Atlanta airport when he arrived from South Africa after failing to attend a hearing in the tax case. A federal judge ordered him to be taken into custody. He is being held at a detention center in Kankakee, Illinois.

Reynolds says he’s been held in solitary confinement and protective custody. He says his situation makes it “impossible to prepare for trial.”