Update: 12/12/23 at 11:58 a.m. ET.
After Todd Chrisley spoke out about the allegedly “filthy” conditions, a representative for the Federal Bureau of Prisons told Us Weekly that the agency takes its responsibility to care for incarcerated individuals “seriously.”
“The Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) including the Federal Prison Camp Pensacola takes seriously our duty to protect the individuals entrusted in our custody as well as maintain the safety of correctional employees and the community,” read FBOP’s statement. “We make every effort to create a controlled environment within our facilities that is both secure and humane, prioritizing the physical and emotional well-being of those in our care and custody.”
The rep also noted that FBOP “also has an Administrative Remedy Program for incarcerated individuals to seek formal review and redress of almost any concern they have regarding their incarceration.”
Original story continues below:
Since Todd Chrisley and wife Julie Chrisley reported to prison in January, their experiences have been quite unenjoyable.
“It is so disgustingly filthy,” Todd, 54, claimed in a Friday, December 8, interview with correspondent Brian Entin on Chris Cuomo’s CUOMO show, which airs on NewsNation. “The food is dated and it’s out of date by, at minimum, a year. It’s a year past expiration. And they’re literally starving these men to death here. These men are getting — I don’t know — they are getting 1,000 calories a day.”
To avoid the allegedly expired food, Todd has tried using his own money to pay for groceries from the commissary, but he claims an employee is trying to cut off his supply.
“I’ve been told this by a staff member — one of the ways she’s trying to break me is by cutting down what you can buy in commissary,” he explained. “So, before she came here, you could buy 12 packs of tuna a week. She cut it down to six, and from six it went to three. She has not given a reason. When I asked her about it, she said commissary is a privilege, not a right.”
The Chrisley Knows Best alum then alleged that the food he buys himself is also compromised.
“You’ve got rats, you’ve got squirrels in the storage facility where the food is,” Todd claimed. “They just covered it up with plastic and then tore the ceiling out because of all the black mold and found a dead cat in the ceiling, and it dropped down on the top of the food.”
Todd further alleged that a team of employees is trying to “humble” him during his time in the Pensacola, Florida, facility.
“[They said], ‘What we need to do is we need to put him in diesel therapy and put him in shackles and let him ride around the country for a time and then bring him back and that will humble him. He thinks he’s in one of his mansions that he’s used to living in, but this is the f–king [Bureau of Prisons]. That’s what he’ll need,’” Todd said.
Todd also claimed that the staff tried to blackmail him with a photograph that was taken of him while he was sleeping. “[It was] sent to my daughter, asking for $2,600 dollars a month for my protection,” he added.
Todd and Julie, 50, both reported to prison in January after they were convicted of tax evasion, conspiracy and bank and wire fraud in 2022. Todd was sentenced to 12 years in prison while Julie was sentenced to seven years. Julie is serving her time at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky.
Earlier this year, an attorney for the couple told Entertainment Weekly that the duo’s sentences were shortened after they qualified for reductions under the First Step Act. Todd is now set for release in January 2033 after he finishes about 10 years of his original sentence, while Julie’s sentence was shortened to about five years.
Todd and Julie’s kids have previously been vocal about their parents’ poor living conditions in prison. The couple share sons Chase, 27, and Grayson, 17, and daughter Savannah, 26. Todd also shares daughter Lindsie, 34, and son Kyle, 32, with ex-wife Teresa Terry.
“Their conditions are just so s–tty, too. Like, everybody acts like my dad is in some country club, and that’s not the case at all,” Chase explained on the “Chasin’ Birdies” podcast in May. “I mean, they got, like, black mold [where my dad is], and my mom’s place is even worse. I mean, she doesn’t even have air conditioning. They’re in a camp. It’s better than, like, being behind a wall.”
