Joe Exotic's representative has confirmed that the former zoo operator has been released from isolation after fans adopted the letter-writing campaign as an advocacy tool to support him. Maldonado-Passage was locked in the SHU (security housing units) but has been kept in a room comprising a hospital bed and just a window.
On June 23, a note was posted on Joe Exotic's Instagram account, confirming that he has been moved out of isolation and is now kept in a room that has a hospital bed and a window. Another post addressing fans noted that Joe was unjustly kept in solitary confinement for a long period, adding that 2,000 of his fans wrote and asked that he be removed from isolation.
The post lauded those who sidelined the challenges the world is facing today for a short period and took time out to help Joe. The post also confirmed that their efforts have paid off and Joe has informed that the day has finally arrived. For the first time in two years, Joe was finally able to catch a glimpse of the world through a window.
Coming out of isolation has helped Joe to have hopes again, thanks to the kindness shown by his fans, the post read. Inmate records suggest Maldonado-Passage is currently kept in Fort Worth FMC, which is a Federal Bureau of Prisons operated medical center. In Apr., he was shifted to the Fort Worth, Texas, prison facility citing fears of the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this month, Dillon Passage, Maldonado-Passage’s husband appeared on the SiriusXM Radio Andy show where he revealed that his partner has been kept in COVID-19 isolation in prison. Dillon said they used to speak three to five times a day but after he was transferred to the new facility, Joe was put on COVID-19 isolation because the earlier jail he was at, had a few cases.
Host Andy Cohen asked whether or not Maldonado-Passage was kept in his own COVID-19 quarantine, Dillon said that he was. In June, Dillon opened up about how his husband was treated in jail, telling PEOPLE he feels like he is being punished because he is unnecessarily being kept in solitary confinement.
Dillon admitted that he didn't know what exactly what going on behind the bars, but said it would be miserable to be kept inside a small concrete room. He said Joe is used to having people around him and needs constant attention.