Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
No-Go for Joe Exotic: Trump Pardon List Omits 'Tiger King'
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
January 20, 2021

Share

OKLAHOMA CITY — One name missing in President Donald Trump’s flurry of pardons is “Tiger King” Joe Exotic.

His team was so confident in a pardon that they had readied a celebratory limousine and a hair and wardrobe team to whisk away the zookeeper-turned-reality-TV-star, who is serving a 22-year federal prison sentence in Texas. But he wasn’t on the list announced Wednesday morning.

Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was sentenced in January 2020 to 22 years in federal prison for violating federal wildlife laws and for his role in a failed murder-for-hire plot targeting his chief rival, Carole Baskin, who runs a rescue sanctuary for big cats in Florida. Baskin was not harmed.

Maldonado-Passage, who has maintained his innocence, was also sentenced for killing five tigers, selling tiger cubs and falsifying wildlife records. A jury convicted him in April 2019.

In his pardon application filed in September, Maldonado-Passage’s attorneys argued that he was “railroaded and betrayed” by others. Maldonado-Passage, 57, is scheduled to be released from custody in 2037, but his attorneys said in the application that “he will likely die in prison” because of health concerns.

Maldonado-Passage’s backers, who referred to themselves as “Team Tiger,” said in a statement Wednesday that “140 million Joe Exotic fans had a hard time getting out of bed this morning.”

“We are as disappointed that the president did not sign Joe’s pardon, as we were confident yesterday that he would,” the statement said.

The blond mullet-wearing zookeeper, known for his expletive-laden rants on YouTube and a failed 2018 Oklahoma gubernatorial campaign, was prominently featured in the popular Netflix documentary “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.”

DON'T MISS

Gaetz Withdraws as Trump’s Pick for Attorney General

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Men Arrested in Armed Robbery Near Sanger High, Sanger Academy

DON'T MISS

Newsom Heads to Fresno, a County That Voted for Trump

DON'T MISS

Conservative Professors and Students Are Suing California’s Community Colleges, and Winning

DON'T MISS

How Trump Can Earn a Place in History That He Did Not Expect

DON'T MISS

Love Seeks Redemption as Packers Prepare for 49ers Rematch

DON'T MISS

Suspect Arrested After Oakhurst Crime Spree Leaves K9 Injured

DON'T MISS

Top War-Crimes Court Issues Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas Officials

DON'T MISS

With or Without Lockridge, Can Bulldogs Get Out of Their Own Way to Become Bowl Eligible?

DON'T MISS

Classes for Cannabis? UC Merced Extension Launching Weed Workforce Training

UP NEXT

Looking for a Night Out? Bill Burr, Ralph Barbosa and West Coast Takeover Are Up Next

UP NEXT

Comcast to Spin Off Cable Networks, Once Star Performers for the Entertainment Giant

UP NEXT

‘Tis the Season for Holiday Albums, From Jennifer Hudson to Toby Keith and Jimmy Fallon

UP NEXT

Budget-Friendly Hacks for a Friendsgiving Feast to Remember

UP NEXT

Rock Great Jeff Beck’s Guitars Are Going up for Auction

UP NEXT

Dan Forrest’s ‘Creation’ Is a Feast for the Ears. Fresno Master Chorale Performs It Sunday.

UP NEXT

Which Landmarks and Businesses Are Featured on Monopoly Fresno Edition?

UP NEXT

Veteran NBC Host Craig Melvin Tapped to Replace Hoda Kotb for the First Hours of ‘Today’ Show

UP NEXT

R&B Concerts, Comedy, & Worship Take Center Stage This Weekend

UP NEXT

Missouri Prosecutor Says He Won’t Charge Nelly After an August Drug Arrest

Conservative Professors and Students Are Suing California’s Community Colleges, and Winning

59 minutes ago

How Trump Can Earn a Place in History That He Did Not Expect

1 hour ago

Love Seeks Redemption as Packers Prepare for 49ers Rematch

1 hour ago

Suspect Arrested After Oakhurst Crime Spree Leaves K9 Injured

2 hours ago

Top War-Crimes Court Issues Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas Officials

2 hours ago

With or Without Lockridge, Can Bulldogs Get Out of Their Own Way to Become Bowl Eligible?

6 hours ago

Classes for Cannabis? UC Merced Extension Launching Weed Workforce Training

6 hours ago

This Kitty Seeks a Quiet Home to Call Her Own

6 hours ago

‘Woke’ Terminology Not Commonly Used by Americans: YouGov Survey

6 hours ago

FBI Arrested a Man Who’s Been Charged With Planning an Attack on the New York Stock Exchange

17 hours ago

Gaetz Withdraws as Trump’s Pick for Attorney General

WASHINGTON — Matt Gaetz withdrew Thursday as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general following continued scrutiny over a fe...

16 minutes ago

16 minutes ago

Gaetz Withdraws as Trump’s Pick for Attorney General

16 minutes ago

Fresno County Men Arrested in Armed Robbery Near Sanger High, Sanger Academy

30 minutes ago

Newsom Heads to Fresno, a County That Voted for Trump

59 minutes ago

Conservative Professors and Students Are Suing California’s Community Colleges, and Winning

President Donald Trump with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington, Sept. 15, 2020. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
1 hour ago

How Trump Can Earn a Place in History That He Did Not Expect

1 hour ago

Love Seeks Redemption as Packers Prepare for 49ers Rematch

A Mariposa man was arrested after a violent crime spree in Oakhurst, injuring a sheriff's K9 and prompting multiple investigations. (Instagram/FresnoDAIA))
2 hours ago

Suspect Arrested After Oakhurst Crime Spree Leaves K9 Injured

2 hours ago

Top War-Crimes Court Issues Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas Officials

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend