Ghislaine Maxwell’s quiet transfer to a minimum‑security prison camp in Texas has sparked anger among inmates, who say the disgraced socialite does not belong there.
Julie Howell, 44, serving a one‑year sentence for theft at Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Bryan, said she and other prisoners were “disgusted” by Maxwell’s arrival.
“Every inmate I’ve heard from is upset she’s here,” she told The Telegraph. “This facility is supposed to house non‑violent offenders. Human trafficking is a violent crime.”
Highlights
- Ghislaine Maxwell was quietly moved to a minimum-security Texas prison, angering inmates who say she doesn’t belong there.
- FPC Bryan, known as 'Club Fed,' houses mostly white-collar criminals and offers programs like arts, theater, and puppy training.
- Maxwell’s transfer reportedly followed death threats at her previous prison, where she was labeled a snitch for cooperating with authorities.
Inmates at the prison where Ghislaine Maxwell was transferred are "disgusted" by her arrival
Image credits: Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn
Maxwell, the former girlfriend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is serving a 20‑year sentence for procuring underage girls for Epstein’s sex trafficking conspiracy.
She was quietly moved this week from a stricter low‑security prison in Tallahassee, Florida, to FPC Bryan, a minimum‑security facility about 100 miles from Houston.
Her new prison is often referred to as a “Club Fed” camp because it mostly houses inmates convicted of white‑collar crimes and minor offenses.
It is the same facility where the founder of the fraudulent blood-testing company, Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, is serving an 11‑year sentence for fraud.
Inmates at FPC Bryan live in dorm‑style housing with little fencing and few guards.
Image credits: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
They also have access to arts and crafts, theater programs, a gym, and a unique puppy‑training program that allows them to work with dogs set to become service animals.
Many of the inmates in the prison are unsettled by Maxwell’s presence.
They were even placed on lockdown with the blinds closed, apparently to keep Maxwell out of sight during her transfer.
“We have heard there are threats against her life and many of us are worried about our own safety because she’s here,” Howell said.
Maxwell was allegedly moved under the cover of darkness after receiving death threats in her previous prison. A source told the Mail on Sunday that other inmates at Tallahassee labeled her a “snitch” after she spoke with federal authorities.
“There were very real and very credible threats on her life,” the source said. “There were real fears inside Tallahassee that they could not guarantee her safety, which is why she was moved.”
Image credits: Joe Schildhorn/Getty Images
Maxwell’s transfer came just a week after she sat for a nine‑hour interview with Todd Blanche, the Deputy Attorney General under U.S. President Donald Trump.
The meeting fueled speculation that Maxwell could be negotiating a deal with the government.
Her legal team has said she is willing to testify before Congress in exchange for a presidential pardon or a commutation of her sentence.
Trump has not ruled out the possibility.
The interview reportedly covered Epstein’s connections to high‑profile figures, including Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, Bill Gates, and several billionaires.
The Trump administration has not explained why Maxwell was transferred to the minimum-security facility in Texas, despite Bureau of Prisons guidelines that typically require sex offenders to be housed in at least low-security institutions.
Maxwell was quietly transferred despite guidelines that require sex offenders to be housed in at least low-security institutions
Image credits: The White House/Flickr
“Any false assertion this individual was given preferential treatment is absurd," a senior White House official said. "Prisoners are routinely moved in some instances due to death threats, and significant safety and danger concerns.”
Her transfer to the Texas prison has also sparked criticism in Washington.
Senator Jack Reed said over the weekend that the move “looked suspicious,” adding, “Sexual predators shouldn’t be afforded preferential treatment."
“President Trump needs to come clean about his past personal relationship with Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell.”
Senator Chuck Schumer warned last month: “There is every reason to fear that Donald Trump could offer Ghislaine Maxwell a pardon in exchange for silence or, even worse, phony exoneration.”
The Justice Department and FBI previously concluded Epstein died by suicide in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019 and said there was no “client list” in his possession.
Image credits: Davidoff Studios/Getty Images
For Howell, Maxwell’s transfer is deeply personal. The former professor said her daughter was trafficked at 17, beaten, choked, shot, and later became pregnant.
Howell adopted the child and worked with the FBI and local law enforcement to help track down the perpetrators, who are now serving federal sentences of more than 20 years.
“That incident changed the trajectory of my daughter’s life, as well as mine,” Howell said.
She said the trauma of her daughter’s ordeal triggered her own mental health struggles and a gambling addiction, which she funded by stealing nearly $1 million from her employer, Tarleton State University.
She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year in prison in June.
Inmates at the facility are upset and feel unsafe after Maxwell's transfer
“I don’t blame anyone else for the actions that brought me here,” Howell said. “But I can definitely say that the circumstances that surrounded my daughter being shot were what sparked my spiral and addiction to gambling to escape my reality. Having Ms Maxwell here triggered all of those feelings.”
Howell also warned that Maxwell could be a flight risk, given her alleged previous attempts to avoid capture before her 2020 arrest.
“This is a camp you can literally walk out of,” she said. “I don’t care how many people she turns in; it doesn’t take away from her actions. As a mother of a sex-trafficking victim, I’m absolutely disgusted she’s in this facility. Regardless of her reasoning, I don’t think she belongs here.”
Image credits: Emily Michot/Getty Images
Trump was previously pictured with Maxwell and Epstein at parties in New York and Florida throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
In 1997, Maxwell appeared as a passenger on Trump’s private Boeing 727 headed to Palm Beach, where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort sat just miles from Epstein’s mansion, according to a New Yorker profile of Trump.
The same year, The Sunday Mirror reported that British model Anouska De Georgiou, then 20, attended a Manhattan party with Maxwell, who “introduced several of her attractive friends” to Trump.
The report alleged that Trump later flew Maxwell and De Georgiou to Palm Beach for a weekend, after which De Georgiou was “installed in one of Donald’s many apartments” in New York.
Image credits: The White House/Flickr
De Georgiou later said under oath during a 2019 hearing in Epstein’s federal case that Epstein raped and sexually abused her for years.
When Maxwell was arrested in 2020 for aiding Epstein’s sex trafficking operation, Trump told reporters he “met her numerous times over the years,” adding, “I just wish her well, frankly.”
Maxwell repeatedly sought bail before her 2021 trial, alleging that prison guards mistreated her and she was sleep-deprived. But her motions were denied due to concerns that her wealth and international connections made her a flight risk.