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

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog

DON'T MISS

Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies

DON'T MISS

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

DON'T MISS

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

DON'T MISS

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

DON'T MISS

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

DON'T MISS

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

DON'T MISS

Companies Cut Prices to Boost Sales, Consumers Respond

DON'T MISS

Stay Cool, Fresno!

UP NEXT

Bill Burr Headlines a Fresno Weekend of Comedy and Tribute Bands

UP NEXT

John Mayall, Tireless and Influential British Blues Pioneer, Dies at 90

UP NEXT

Comic Con 2024: What to Expect as the Convention Returns to San Diego

UP NEXT

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Is Here to Shake up the Marvel Cinematic Universe

UP NEXT

Where and When Can You See REO Speedwagon in the Valley?

UP NEXT

Reality Show Contestant Apologizes After Eating Protected Bird

UP NEXT

Review: Candlelight Delivers an Enchanting Performance

UP NEXT

Calls for Maya Rudolph to Reprise Her Kamala Harris on ‘SNL’ Are Flooding Social Media

UP NEXT

Haunted Hikes and Campfire Frights Give Campers the Chills Across the US This Summer

UP NEXT

‘Twisters’ Whips up $80.5 Million at Box Office, While ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Looms

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

2 hours ago

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

3 hours ago

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

3 hours ago

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

4 hours ago

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

4 hours ago

Companies Cut Prices to Boost Sales, Consumers Respond

4 hours ago

Stay Cool, Fresno!

5 hours ago

Warner Bros. Discovery Sues NBA for Not Accepting Its Matching Offer

5 hours ago

Tanker Plane Crash Kills Firefighting Pilot in Oregon as Western Wildfires Spread

5 hours ago

Will Bonta Election Lawsuit Reverse the Will of Fresno County Voters?

5 hours ago

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

The arch of colorful balloons over the doorway of a storefront on Shaw Avenue in Clovis was a clue that something exciting was happening on ...

1 hour ago

1 hour ago

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

2 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog

2 hours ago

Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies

2 hours ago

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

3 hours ago

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

3 hours ago

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

4 hours ago

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

4 hours ago

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend