An inmate at
Ghislaine Maxwell's cushy new prison has been abruptly transferred to a higher security facility after publicly criticizing the convicted sex trafficker, Daily Mail can reveal.
Julie Howell, who is serving a one-year sentence for theft, was removed from Federal Prison Camp, Bryan in
Texas after blasting Maxwell as 'disgusting' in an interview with a British newspaper earlier this month.
According to Howell's lawyer Patrick McClain, prison warden Dr. Tanisha Hall called the 44-year-old Texas native into her office and informed her she was being moved immediately.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail, McClain said Hall told Howell, 'you've ruined my weekend', and complained about her phone 'blowing up' over the controversy.
Howell was then booted out of Bryan so fast she did not have time to collect her medication or her glasses.
She is now being held at the grim Federal Detention Center in Houston where the inmates are more violent and the conditions are far worse.
In another twist, Howell only decided to speak up because one of her family members was a victim of sex trafficking – the crime for which Maxwell received a 20-year sentence.
'Julie has been punished for crossing the system and speaking her mind openly,' McClain told Daily Mail.
'President Trump has talked about
wanting to punish and put in jail his political opponents.
'I have no reason to believe that the president knows who Julie Howell is, but by speaking her mind she has angered his administration and has suffered the consequences'.
Maxwell, 63, was moved to Bryan from the higher security FCI Tallahassee in Florida last month amid intense pressure on Donald Trump over the release of files related to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Experts said such a move was unprecedented as Maxwell was convicted of trafficking minors to Epstein in 2022 and was given the lengthy prison term.
Bryan, which has been described as a 'cushy country club' is normally reserved for less serious crimes like Howell's. She was jailed for a year for theft.
Among its inmates are Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who is serving more than 11 years for fraud and former Real Housewife Jen Shah
serving six-and-a half years for conspiracy.
Maxwell met with deputy attorney general Todd Blanche over two days in July to discuss what information she could provide to prosecutors. Hours later she was moved to Bryan.
Her arrival caused outrage among the other prisoners, including Howell.
The interview with UK newspaper The Telegraph was published on August 4. In it Howell, 44, was quoted as saying that 'every inmate I've heard from is upset she's here'.
She said in an email to the outlet: 'This facility is supposed to house non-violent offenders. Human trafficking is a violent crime.'
According to McClain, within hours of the article being published, Howell was hauled before Hall.
McClain said: 'Dr. Hall called Julie into his office and said she was extremely upset and that she had ruined her weekend.
'Dr. Hall said that her phone had been blowing up with people calling about the interview. Julie was upset about what was going on.
'Julie was put on a transport and taken to FDC Houston immediately. She didn't pick up her medication, her personal effects or even her glasses.
'Once she got to Houston she was put in a SHU, or Special Housing Unit, in a windowless cell and only allowed out for an hour of fresh air every two days.
'Since then she has been moved to the general population and the staff have been decent to her'.
Howell was only a few weeks into her sentence when she talked to the Telegraph, meaning that she appears set to spend the vast majority of her jail time at FDC Houston.
Unlike at Prison Camp Bryan, she cannot roam the facility and there is no puppy training program, which Howell was enrolled in: Maxwell was deemed ineligible.
Rather than being white collar criminals, the other inmates in Houston are more violent and dangerous.
'Julie is upbeat, she's staying tough but obviously she's very concerned', McClain said.
One of the reasons that Howell decided to speak out about Maxwell was that one of her family members was a victim of sex trafficking.
McClain said that Howell had 'worked with the FBI' in the past to ensure that the perpetrators went to jail.
'It's a personal issue for her', McClain said.
'When she called Julie into her office, Dr. Hall didn't say much, only that she was being moved and she was upset about it.
'I don't know if it was at the direction of somebody higher up in the Bureau of Prisons but I wouldn't be surprised as Dr. Hall has to tell them what she's doing'.
Maxwell's arrival brought intense scrutiny to Prison Camp Bryan.
Sam Mangel, a prison consultant who advises potential inmates ahead of their jail terms, said that Howell's departure had rattled other inmates.
Mangel, who has two clients in Prison Camp Bryan said that there has been an atmosphere of 'general paranoia' since Maxwell's arrival.
'My clients are petrified that Maxwell will walk into the visiting room while they are there,' he said.
'Some of them have young daughters who are the age of Maxwell's victims. Maxwell being there while they are there is their biggest fear.
'Everyone is walking on eggshells.
'One of my clients is the same age as some of the people that Maxwell trafficked'.
According to Mangel, even the staff at the prison are worried about upsetting Maxwell.
'They think she has the ear of the Department of Justice and are scared of doing something or saying something inappropriate around her', Mangel said.
Warden Hall, the Bureau of Prisons and Maxwell's lawyers did not respond to Daily Mail's request for comment.
.
