Joe Exotic writes plea for help and claims ‘harassing’ prison guard is meddling in his marriage

Tiger King star Joe Exotic has issued yet another a desperate plea for help after claiming he is being cruelly and unfairly mistreated behind bars.

Exotic is serving 22 years at Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas after being convicted in a murder-for-hire plot against his nemesis Carole Baskin.

But the former big cat breeder – who insists he’s innocent of his crimes – says he’s going through hell in prison and is being targeted by prison staff in a campaign of abuse.

Exotic – real name Joe Maldonado-Passage – lays out the alleged abuse in handwritten letters, complaint forms and emails obtained by DailyMailTV and believes one guard in particular has it in for him.

He says the officer is ‘harassing’ and ‘stalking’ him and even threatened to lock him away in solitary confinement ‘forever’.

And in another bombshell claim, DailyMailTV has learned Exotic was sexually assaulted and left with gruesome injuries from his shackles at a previous facility he was held at.

It’s claimed staff at his current prison in Texas search Exotic’s room every other day, write him up for minor prison violations, berate him on a daily basis and hurl cutting insults his way, even claiming his husband Dillon is cheating behind his back.

A fellow inmate who spent time with Exotic in prison told DailyMailTV that the abuse is taking its toll on the star and he’s dropped 40lbs of weight through stress.

Tiger King star Joe Exotic has issued yet another a desperate plea for help after claiming he is being cruelly and unfairly mistreated behind bars. It’s claimed staff at his current prison in Texas search Exotic’s room every other day, write him up for minor prison violations, berate him on a daily basis and hurl cutting insults his way, even claiming his husband Dillon is cheating behind his back 

And in another bombshell claim, DailyMailTV has learned Exotic was sexually assaulted and left with gruesome injuries from his shackles (pictured) at a previous facility he was held at

And in another bombshell claim, DailyMailTV has learned Exotic was sexually assaulted and left with gruesome injuries from his shackles (pictured) at a previous facility he was held at

Exotic - real name Joe Maldonado-Passage - lays out the alleged abuse in handwritten letters (pictured), complaint forms and emails obtained by DailyMailTV and believes one guard in particular has it in for him

Exotic – real name Joe Maldonado-Passage – lays out the alleged abuse in handwritten letters (pictured), complaint forms and emails obtained by DailyMailTV and believes one guard in particular has it in for him

He’s also unrecognizable as the colorful, larger than life animal trainer we all remember in hit Netflix series Tiger King.

These days Exotic is much more subdued, is regularly brought to tears and his trademark bleach blond hair has grown out leaving a dark brown mane.

The inmate also says Exotic’s famous ‘bangs’ are out of control after being refused a haircut for months.

In a letter laying out a long list of his worst grievances Exotic writes of the officer that’s targeting him: ‘Mr ********* cannot leave my personal life alone. It’s very scary.’

In one document called a ‘request for administrative remedy’, Exotic writes: ‘I am being harassed by Lt *********. he is trying to be a marriage counselor, not treating me as a human, impartially, fairly or respectfully. It feels as if he is stalking me on my marriage (and) my husbands (sic) bussiness (sic).’

Exotic requests that the guard – who DailyMail.com is not naming for legal reasons – ‘stop harassing me, (and) to stop telling me what to do with my husband and family matters.’

Exotic said he had asked the guard to stop and emailed other staff, but nothing was done.

The animal lover also complained that prison officers are purposely making bad copies of the hundreds of fan mail letters he receives every day.

In the formal complaint he writes: ‘I receive a lot of letters. The return address is cut off and parts of letter missing due to not copying correctly.’

He claims to have over 40 letters that haven’t been copied properly.

In one document called a 'request for administrative remedy', Exotic writes: 'I am being harassed by Lt *********. he is trying to be a marriage counselor, not treating me as a human, impartially, fairly or respectfully. It feels as if he is stalking me on my marriage (and) my husbands (sic) bussiness (sic)'

In one document called a ‘request for administrative remedy’, Exotic writes: ‘I am being harassed by Lt *********. he is trying to be a marriage counselor, not treating me as a human, impartially, fairly or respectfully. It feels as if he is stalking me on my marriage (and) my husbands (sic) bussiness (sic)’

In a letter laying out a long list of his worst grievances Exotic writes of the officer that's targeting him: 'Mr ********* cannot leave my personal life alone. It's very scary'

In a letter laying out a long list of his worst grievances Exotic writes of the officer that’s targeting him: ‘Mr ********* cannot leave my personal life alone. It’s very scary’

The animal lover also complained that prison officers are purposely making bad copies of the hundreds of fan mail letters he receives every day. In the formal complaint he writes: 'I receive a lot of letters. The return address is cut off and parts of letter missing due to not copying correctly.' He claims to have over 40 letters that haven't been copied properly (pictured)

The animal lover also complained that prison officers are purposely making bad copies of the hundreds of fan mail letters he receives every day. In the formal complaint he writes: ‘I receive a lot of letters. The return address is cut off and parts of letter missing due to not copying correctly.’ He claims to have over 40 letters that haven’t been copied properly (pictured)

In another complaint, this time an ‘informal resolution attempt’ over email, Exotic concludes: ‘I don’t want to deal with this anymore. Its (sic) clear Mr ********* has a personal issue with me and it needs to stop. This has started since I hit this compound when he threatened me one hour after I got here that I would never get out of the shu. This is a personal issue and ********* is targeting me and harassing me.’

One of Exotic’s fellow inmates witnessed some of the alleged mistreatment and told DailyMail.com the star is being given a rough ride.

The prisoner said when Exotic first arrived at the facility he was put in isolation – or the SHU (special housing unit) as the prisoners call it – because prison bosses didn’t immediately know what to do with him.

Because of his high profile, staff feared Exotic could be attacked or cause issues in the general population.

As a result he was kept in isolation for four months before it was decided to move him to a separate ‘quarantine’ area on the second floor of the hospital.

The area is currently being used to quarantine inmates for 14 days before they leave prison.

Being based in this unit means Exotic has no access to outdoor exercise or any other prison activities.

The inmate, who asked not to be named, said: ‘When Joe first arrived there is this corrections officer who made clear he just doesn’t like him.

‘He said to Joe, “My goal is to keep you in the SHU for as long as I can because I don’t like you”. And it all started from there.

‘First thing he told me, he showed me his mail, because they’re purposely not copying it properly for him, they don’t want him to have a fan base.

‘He gets some 150 pieces of mail a day, half are rejected so he only gets the rejection slip, but the rest they’re only copying half the letter and half the return address.

‘The staff are p***ed that they have to deal with all his mail so they’re f**king with him.’ 

One of Exotic's fellow inmates witnessed some of the alleged mistreatment and told DailyMail.com the star is being given a rough ride. The prisoner said when Exotic first arrived at the facility he was put in isolation - or the SHU (special housing unit) as the prisoners call it - because prison bosses didn't immediately know what to do with him

One of Exotic’s fellow inmates witnessed some of the alleged mistreatment and told DailyMail.com the star is being given a rough ride. The prisoner said when Exotic first arrived at the facility he was put in isolation – or the SHU (special housing unit) as the prisoners call it – because prison bosses didn’t immediately know what to do with him

Exotic is serving 22-years at Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas after being convicted in a murder-for-hire plot against his nemesis Carole Baskin

Exotic is serving 22-years at Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas after being convicted in a murder-for-hire plot against his nemesis Carole Baskin

The inmate continued: ‘They’ve wrote him up three times as well. Another inmate in the SHU gave a cop (corrections officer) three stamps and asked if they could give them to Joe.

‘The cop took them to him and then wrote him up for accepting something of value from another inmate.

‘They just keep messing with him, making incident reports about him and most are unjustified.

‘He would then have his phone or email taken away or his commissary, they are making it hard on him because he’s a celebrity.’

The inmate says the officer constantly berates Exotic and verbally abuses him.

‘He’ll tell Joe he saw pictures of his husband not wearing his ring, he’d say he doesn’t love you anymore, he doesn’t care about you anymore,’ he said.

‘Joe had a bunch of pictures of his husband Dillon and his former dead husband Travis on his wall and the CO ripped them all down.

‘He’s going out of his way to upset Joe and it’s working, he’s miserable, worn down by it. The officer even told him, “I listen to every single phone call you make and read every single email”, it’s almost like he’s stalking him.

‘They just turn his computer off for three days for no reason. He hasn’t been given any clothes, he’s wearing hand me downs from other prisoners.

‘Joe has sent some 50 emails complaining, but no one ever responds.’

And the inmate told DailyMail.com that he believes upper management at the facility are behind the mistreatment.

The inmate says the officer constantly berates Exotic and verbally abuses him. 'He'll tell Joe he saw pictures of his husband not wearing his ring, he'd say he doesn't love you anymore, he doesn't care about you anymore,' he said

The inmate says the officer constantly berates Exotic and verbally abuses him. ‘He’ll tell Joe he saw pictures of his husband not wearing his ring, he’d say he doesn’t love you anymore, he doesn’t care about you anymore,’ he said

They added: 'It's not just the one CO, there's this other officer who is pretty cool, he tells it like it is. He told Joe, "Listen, I don't have a problem with you, but I've been told by staff supervisors that we're supposed to f**k with you at all times, we're supposed to make you miserable"

They added: ‘It’s not just the one CO, there’s this other officer who is pretty cool, he tells it like it is. He told Joe, “Listen, I don’t have a problem with you, but I’ve been told by staff supervisors that we’re supposed to f**k with you at all times, we’re supposed to make you miserable”

And the inmate told DailyMail.com that he believes upper management at the facility are behind the mistreatment.

And the inmate told DailyMail.com that he believes upper management at the facility are behind the mistreatment.

‘It’s not just the one CO, there’s this other officer who is pretty cool, he tells it like it is. He told Joe, “Listen, I don’t have a problem with you, but I’ve been told by staff supervisors that we’re supposed to f**k with you at all times, we’re supposed to make you miserable”.

‘The officers violate his rights every day, he’s never had a haircut, his bangs are down past his nose, they’ve not given him any clothes, he wasn’t given a pillow like everyone else.’

The prisoner added that Exotic’s health and physical appearance has deteriorated.

‘He looks horrible, he’s got the big old bags under his eyes, droopy face, he’s lost a ton of weight, he don’t eat good when he does eat,’ he said.

‘The bleach blond has gone, his hair is a mess, I feel bad for him,’ he said.

Francisco Hernandez, a Fort Worth based attorney and lead counsel for ‘Team Tiger’ – the group assembled to free Exotic – slams his client’s treatment.

Hernandez claims that after three months in solitary confinement, Exotic was slapped with a fourth month because staff wrongly concluded that a phone call with his lawyer and power of attorney was a discussion about a prison break.

He said: ‘They added a month because on the very first phone call that I had with him, Ann Patrick, his power of attorney, was lawfully entitled to be a participant and Joe was distraught, crying, and desperate.

‘Ann was trying to encourage Joe, and said, “you sit tight, we’re going to get you out. We’re going to get you out. We’re going to get you out”.

‘They went to Joe and interpreted it that there was going to be a breakout attempt.

‘They’re not even supposed to be listening to my conversations with him because of attorney/client privilege, so how the hell did they know what was said.

‘They listened to every single one of his conversations, they were reading every single one of his emails. They open my attorney mail and I know because I’ve sent some tests, thrown some shiny objects at them just to see what would happen.

‘Even during COVID I found out last week that it was not prohibited from me seeing my client in person and they have refused every week.’

The prisoner added that Exotic's health and physical appearance has deteriorated. 'He looks horrible, he's got the big old bags under his eyes, droopy face, he's lost a ton of weight, he don't eat good when he does eat,' he said

The prisoner added that Exotic’s health and physical appearance has deteriorated. ‘He looks horrible, he’s got the big old bags under his eyes, droopy face, he’s lost a ton of weight, he don’t eat good when he does eat,’ he said

They added: 'The officers violate his rights every day, he's never had a haircut, his bangs are down past his nose, they've not given him any clothes, he wasn't given a pillow like everyone else'

They added: ‘The officers violate his rights every day, he’s never had a haircut, his bangs are down past his nose, they’ve not given him any clothes, he wasn’t given a pillow like everyone else’

Eric Love, the lead investigator and executive manager for ‘Team Tiger’, said Exotic’s abuse while behind bars started even before he arrived at FMC in Fort Worth.

‘He was in Grady County jail in Oklahoma first… where he was restrained. 

‘A lot of horrible things happened. We have pictures where literally the skin is off of his wrist. He was sexually assaulted… that’s a horrible thing to go through, male or female.

‘He’s transferred to the federal system and basically he can’t see his attorney. He can’t see anybody from his legal group. 

‘We have fought, hands down, left, right to try to get in. They always have an excuse, COVID. They reduced his phone calls.

‘The warden there will not let him use the phone to contact any media outlet, so we have to be his voice.

‘There’s a linen issue, he has a problem with keeping clean and good linen. They won’t provide it to him. They’ve targeted him at the prison, this poor guy is walking around with the biggest target on his back.

‘There’s a little power struggle with one particular guard over there, and we know him well.

‘Between limiting the commissary, limiting the amount of stamps that you purchase, it’s a real challenge. I mean, not only is he physically incarcerated, he’s mentally incarcerated to a whole different degree having to deal with this, all of a sudden there’s a new rule depending on whoever’s on shift that day, that’s problematic.

‘You have 1,499 other inmates in there. And for some reason, this only applies to Joe. An absolute travesty.’

Exotic's close friend and filmmaker Theresa McKeown (pictured together), says still hasn't been given an orientation despite arriving at the facility in April

Exotic’s close friend and filmmaker Theresa McKeown (pictured together), says still hasn’t been given an orientation despite arriving at the facility in April

McKeown says Exotic isn't being afforded even the most basic of rights and is being purposely ignored because of his high profile. 'They claim it's because he's too high profile to be in general population. Honestly, I just don't think they want to deal with him'

McKeown says Exotic isn’t being afforded even the most basic of rights and is being purposely ignored because of his high profile. ‘They claim it’s because he’s too high profile to be in general population. Honestly, I just don’t think they want to deal with him’

Exotic’s close friend and filmmaker Theresa McKeown, says still hasn’t been given an orientation despite arriving at the facility in April.

‘He still doesn’t know what the rules are, but he keeps getting written up for violations for breaking the rules. So he’s kind of finding out the hard way.

‘He’s never been given a clean set of clothing. He’s never been in the general population, so he has none of the, even smallest perks. He can’t buy things from the commissary, all his clothes are hand me downs, he can’t get a haircut.’

McKeown says Exotic isn’t being afforded even the most basic of rights and is being purposely ignored because of his high profile.

‘They claim it’s because he’s too high profile to be in general population. Honestly, I just don’t think they want to deal with him.’

Team Tiger is currently pushing for a legal appeal to overturn Exotic’s conviction.

His attorney has also submitted an application to the White House asking President Trump for a presidential pardon.

Attorney Hernandez says the team won’t stop until Joe Exotic is released from his cage…no matter how long it takes.

‘My commitment is a 22-year commitment. I’m on Joe’s case, even if we have to serve all 22 years, I will not give up,’ he said.

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