Remember Joe Exotic? During the early days of the pandemic, the controversial zoo owner came to fame as the subject of Netflix’s documentary “Tiger King” and then was sent to prison.
At the time, former President Donald Trump said he would “look into” pardoning Maldonado-Passage (Exotic’s legal name). However, the “Tiger King” didn’t make Trump’s pardon list. Now that Trump himself has been indicted, Maldonado-Passage said he’ll save him “a bunk and a bed roll.”
Maldonado-Passage tweeted the comment from prison Tuesday in response to an article in The New York Times about Mark Meadows – the final White House chief of staff under Donald Trump – testifying to a grand jury.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Maldonado-Passage was sentenced in 2020 to 22 years in prison “after a federal jury convicted him of two counts of murder-for-hire, eight counts of violating the Lacey Act for falsifying wildlife records, and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act.”
In the Netflix documentary, he can be seen with tigers on his property.
“Wildlife crime is often connected with other criminal activity such as fraud, narcotics, money-laundering and smuggling. Mr. Maldonado-Passage added murder-for-hire,” said Edward Grace, Assistant Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement.
Last December, Law & Crime reported that Maldonado-Passage has attempted to have his sentence reduced. This request was denied, said the outlet.
Being in prison has not prevented Maldonado-Passage from announcing his candidacy for president in 2024. Forbes interviewed him this week about his campaign.
“I’ve been waiting a year and three weeks now. I filed a motion a year and three weeks ago for a new trial, and the judge refuses to answer it,” he told the publication.
On Twitter, Maldonado-Passage has also taken on another presidential hopeful, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Maldonado-Passage is openly gay and said he supports the LGBTQ community. DeSantis has supported a slew of legislation targeting the LGBTQ community and has even ended up in a very public feud with Disney over it.
DeSantis “is dangerous for America,” said Joe Exotic Tuesday. “If you don’t like his way he will pass a law against you. If you have family stuck in the Federal Justice System you will never see them again under his watch and you need to vote for anyone but him.”
He also made another comment about Trump Wednesday.
“Trump compares himself to Mona Lisa now? Please God I hope he is not thinking about becoming a Transgender now,” he tweeted.
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