Warden at Maxwell’s cushy Texas prison camp warned other inmates not to bully her – or risk being moved to harsher facility, report says
Ghislaine Maxwell’s unexpected arrival at a cushy Texas prison this August has left other inmates unsettled, with some claiming it seems that she receives preferential treatment, according to a report.
Maxwell’s arrival at Bryan Federal Prison Camp, a minimum-security facility known for its relatively relaxed environment, has drastically disrupted the daily lives of her fellow inmates, The Wall Street Journal reports.
On a weekend in mid-August, not long after her arrival, inmates at the prison were forced to stay indoors during their usual outdoor time as Maxwell met with several visitors in the prison camp’s chapel, people familiar with the matter told The Journal.
The arrival of the 63-year-old former associate of Jeffrey Epstein, convicted of trafficking underage girls for the deceased financier, has led to more frequent lockdowns, more armed guards on campus and other changes at the prison, according to the report.
Current and former inmates at the usually docile prison — also the home of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah — said it seemed that Maxwell has been receiving better treatment than other inmates.
A majority of the inmates held there have committed white-collar crimes and face shorter sentences, or have served a larger portion of a longer sentence and are considered a low flight risk.
Because of this, Federal Prison Camp Bryan is known as being relatively low-security, without any towering fences, barbed wire or high-security cells found at more strict facilities.
The Bureau of Prisons typically prohibits sex offenders from serving time in such prisons, though they can be admitted with a special waiver, according to the report. Maxwell, who was handed down a 20-year sentence in 2022, has the fourth-longest remaining sentence out of the prison’s 600 inmates.
It was not known who Maxwell met with in the chapel that day, though some of her fellow inmates heard rumors that the lockdown was meant to accommodate important visitors, according to the report.
Later that day, one inmate said they saw Maxwell return to her dormitory with a smile on her face. When asked about her mysterious meeting, Maxwell said it went well, but didn’t share any other information, according to the report.
Meanwhile, less than a week later, the Justice Department released a transcript of an interview Maxwell had with senior official Todd Blanche weeks earlier in July.
During the interview with Blanche, Maxwell said she had never seen President Donald Trump doing anything inappropriate or illegal with Epstein when they were friends. Soon after, she was transferred to Federal Prison Camp Bryan.
At the time, Maxwell’s lawyer, David Markus, wrote on X that the transfer was for safety reasons and came after she “faced serious danger in Tallahassee.” It was not immediately clear what kinds of safety concerns she had faced at the higher-security prison.
In addition to causing some minor inconveniences for the other inmates, Maxwell was also greeted with a wave of hostility from some. According to the report, fellow prisoners taunted her, calling her a pedophile and a “chomo” – a prison slur for child molester.
