Ghislaine Maxwell’s move to a minimum-security prison in Texas has shaken up the quiet routine of her fellow inmates, many of whom believe she’s being treated better than everyone else, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Maxwell, 63, arrived at Bryan Federal Prison Camp in August. The facility is known for its open layout and relatively relaxed atmosphere, but things reportedly changed fast after she showed up. Inmates say there have been more lockdowns, extra armed guards, and a new level of tension around the campus.
Shortly after she arrived, several inmates said they were ordered to stay inside while Maxwell met with visitors in the prison chapel. No one seems to know who those visitors were, though rumors spread that they were “important people.” One inmate told The Journal that later that day, they saw Maxwell return to her dorm “smiling,” saying only that the meeting “went well.”
Maxwell, a longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted in 2022 for helping him traffic underage girls and sentenced to 20 years in prison. She now has one of the longest remaining sentences among Bryan’s roughly 600 inmates.
Most prisoners there are serving time for white-collar crimes and are considered low-risk. The camp has no fences or barbed wire, and the Bureau of Prisons typically bans sex offenders from serving there, though exceptions can be made with special approval.
Maxwell’s transfer followed a July interview she gave to senior Justice Department official Todd Blanche. In that interview, she said she never saw Donald Trump do anything inappropriate with Epstein when the two men were friends. Just weeks later, she was moved to Bryan. Her lawyer, David Markus, said on X that the transfer was for “safety reasons” after she faced “serious danger” in Tallahassee, though he didn’t give details.
Once at Bryan, not everyone welcomed her. Some inmates taunted her, calling her a pedophile and a “chomo,” a prison insult for child molester. In one incident, Maxwell asked a woman to leave her room, and the inmate exploded, yelling that Maxwell didn’t belong there. That inmate was later transferred.
Afterward, the warden reportedly held a “town hall” meeting, warning inmates that anyone threatening Maxwell or talking to the press would be sent to a tougher prison.
Still, several prisoners told The Journal that Maxwell appeared to get special privileges. Guards allegedly brought her meals to her dorm, escorted her to the gym for private late-night workouts, and allowed her to shower after others were locked in for the night.
Armed response teams were stationed at the camp’s gates around the clock, and a black tarp was added to block views from outside. Once that went up, inmates said Maxwell started going outside more, getting her hair cut and colored at the prison salon, and occasionally visiting the cafeteria—though she’d often give away her vegetarian meals, saying she couldn’t eat the food.
This week, the Supreme Court rejected Maxwell’s latest appeal. When asked if he would consider pardoning her, Trump said, “I’d have to take a look at it,” adding he’d need to “speak to the DOJ” and claimed he didn’t “know anything” about the case.