Joe Exotic is turning to President Trump for help.
The star of Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is currently in prison, after he was convicted in April 2019 of attempting to hire someone to kill animal conservationist Carole Baskin and for animal abuse charges. Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was sentenced to 22 years behind bars in January. He’s currently serving time at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, a place for male inmates with special physical or mental health needs.
On Friday, Exotic’s legal team, released a video obtained by TMZ in which they directly asked Trump for a pardon. The team, which was reportedly hired on April 22, said they plan to appeal his conviction.
Eric Love, who identified himself as Exotic’s executive manager and lead investigator, argued, “Joe was led down a path by swindlers, subjected to bias judgment and convicted in a failure of justice.”
Love said the case would be one of redemption.
“Justice must be served,” Love said. “President Trump, we are asking you today, please free Joe Exotic. He’s absolutely not guilty. We’re gonna be able to prove it. We’re asking for a pardon.”
The team told TMZ that Allan Glover, the man who testified that Exotic hired him for the murder, simply wanted revenge, and they want Exotic to get a new trial.
Along with the men’s pleas, the two-and-a-half-minute clip includes images of Exotic posing with tigers and strumming his guitar, the team flying in a helicopter and a big bus with the message “President Trump Please Pardon Joe Exotic” on the side.
There are also Texas landmarks, including the Alamo and the capitol building.
Francisco Hernandez, Exotic’s lead counsel, added, “A team the size of Texas has been assembled to handle the case of Joe Exotic.”
Trump addressed Exotic’s case during an April news conference, when a reporter asked him directly if he would consider a pardon. Trump said he didn’t know the case but would take a look.
In March, Exotic filed a $94 million civil lawsuit from prison in which he claimed that the U.S. government agencies conspired to wrongfully imprison him.
