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

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Faces New Legal Claim Alleging Top Official Trapped Employee in Car

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Arrest Two in Connection to Caleb Quick’s Murder

DON'T MISS

Elizabeth Smart Shares Harrowing Kidnap, Assault Experience with Fresno

DON'T MISS

US Military Ordered to Pull Books on Diversity, Gender Issues

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Seek Public’s Help in Huron Homicide

DON'T MISS

UN Agencies Warn That Israel’s Plans for Aid Distribution Will Endanger Lives in Gaza

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Officer Arrested on Sexual Battery Charges

DON'T MISS

Mayor Baraka of Newark, New Jersey, Arrested at ICE Detention Center He Has Been Protesting

DON'T MISS

FDA Will Allow Three New Color Additives Made From Minerals, Algae and Flower Petals

DON'T MISS

Pentagon Directs Military to Pull Library Books That Address Diversity, Anti-Racism, Gender Issues

UP NEXT

Gas Up and Go: These Car Shows Are the Ultimate Road-Trip Destinations

UP NEXT

Welcome to Reno, the Mighty Mecca of All-You-Can-Eat Sushi

UP NEXT

Jury in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial May Not Be Finalized Until Friday

UP NEXT

Trump Says He Will Put 100% Tariff on Movies Made Outside US

UP NEXT

Jury Selection Underway in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Sex Trafficking Trial

UP NEXT

Grand Theft Auto VI Delayed Again, This Time Until May 2026

UP NEXT

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial to Delve Into the Seediest Side of Rap’s ‘Bad Boy’

UP NEXT

World’s Tallest and Smallest Dogs Meet Up for a Playdate

UP NEXT

Here’s Why May the 4th Is Celebrated as Star Wars Day Across the Galaxy

UP NEXT

Need a Break Without Using PTO? These Remote Rentals Are Perfect for Your Next Workcation

US Military Ordered to Pull Books on Diversity, Gender Issues

11 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Seek Public’s Help in Huron Homicide

11 hours ago

UN Agencies Warn That Israel’s Plans for Aid Distribution Will Endanger Lives in Gaza

12 hours ago

Fresno Police Officer Arrested on Sexual Battery Charges

13 hours ago

Mayor Baraka of Newark, New Jersey, Arrested at ICE Detention Center He Has Been Protesting

13 hours ago

FDA Will Allow Three New Color Additives Made From Minerals, Algae and Flower Petals

13 hours ago

Pentagon Directs Military to Pull Library Books That Address Diversity, Anti-Racism, Gender Issues

13 hours ago

Fresno Pays the Most for Electricity. What Are Lawmakers Doing About It?

13 hours ago

Freed Palestinian Student Accuses Columbia University of Inciting Violence

13 hours ago

First At-Home Test Kit for Cervical Cancer Approved by the FDA, Company Says

13 hours ago

Fresno Unified Faces New Legal Claim Alleging Top Official Trapped Employee in Car

Fresno Unified trustees on Wednesday will hear a claim for damages from a campus safety officer who alleges her supervisor, a top district o...

9 hours ago

https://www.communitymedical.org/thecause?utm_source=Misfit+Digital&utm_medium=GVWire+Banner+Ads&utm_campaign=Branding+2025&utm_content=thecause
9 hours ago

Fresno Unified Faces New Legal Claim Alleging Top Official Trapped Employee in Car

9 hours ago

Clovis Police Arrest Two in Connection to Caleb Quick’s Murder

10 hours ago

Elizabeth Smart Shares Harrowing Kidnap, Assault Experience with Fresno

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 10, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo
11 hours ago

US Military Ordered to Pull Books on Diversity, Gender Issues

Fresno County authorities are seeking the public’s help to find the suspect who killed Jesus Adrian Amador Jr., 22, of Huron, in a 2017 shooting. (Fresno County SO)
11 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Seek Public’s Help in Huron Homicide

12 hours ago

UN Agencies Warn That Israel’s Plans for Aid Distribution Will Endanger Lives in Gaza

Photo of the front of Fresno Police Headquarters
13 hours ago

Fresno Police Officer Arrested on Sexual Battery Charges

13 hours ago

Mayor Baraka of Newark, New Jersey, Arrested at ICE Detention Center He Has Been Protesting

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

Search

Send this to a friend