Joseph Maldonado–Passage, mostly known as Joe Exotic, might have an opportunity to get back his freedom if the convicted zoo operator receives a pardon from President Donald Trump.
During a conference earlier this month, Trump was asked about his opinion on the potential release of Joe Exotic, who is currently behind bars for a 22-year sentence on charges of two counts of murder for hire and for abuse of endangered animals.
During the President’s appearance, a journalist remarked that his firstborn son, Donald Trump Jr., has publicly stated that he might ask his father to grant executive clemency to Exotic.
Previously, Donald Trump Jr. claimed that he watched the documentary show about Joe’s life. Although it did not seem like he was innocent it was sort of aggressive to be given such a lengthy sentence.
The president then answered that he knew nothing of Joe’s request for pardon and asked why he was convicted to 22 years in prison.
Upon hearing about the allegations against Maldonado-Passage, Trump answered with “Do you think he didn’t do it?” and asked the journalists, who were present, if they would recommend a pardon.
Following his imprisonment, Maldonado-Passage publicly asked for a presidential pardon from Donald Trump on March 19 and shared a Facebook post, which stated that he wanted to sue the federal government for $94 million.
The controversial former zoo operator rose to prominence recently, when Netflix released a documentary series about his life called Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness.
65 million people watched the program worldwide in the month after its release. It even sparked a lot of conspiracy theories online, especially when it comes to Florida animal sanctuary owner Carole Baskin, a character who got a lot attention after the documentary aired.
Baskin’s former multi-millionaire husband Don Lewis disappeared in 1997, and she claims that she was not involved in any way.
Tiger King co-star Jeff Lowe even contributed to keeping the story in the headlines when he claimed that he has found a video of Maldonado-Passage and his former husband having sex with animals in the park.
Lowe said on Reddit: “I think the weirdest thing we found … was a flash drive of Joe and [his ex-husband] and they were having sexual relations with animals in the park.”
The program also managed to bring attention to the Big Cat Public Safety Act, a bill that has now been endorsed by celebrities like Joaquin Phoenix.
It aims to put an end to the private ownership of big cats and cub petting.
