Donald Trump Jr. criticized the federal government this week following reports that Infowars host Owen Shroyer was placed in solitary confinement after being sentenced in connection to the January 6 Capitol riots.
"Is anyone watching how they treat their enemies? Not violent criminals, those people are treated with dignity and respect, but simply those who would speak up loudly against the regime?" Trump Jr. wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "This is dystopian behavior and the govt's unfettered power must be put in check now!"
The post by Trump Jr. came in response to a report that Shroyer was placed in solitary confinement for a second time after beginning his 60-day jail sentence last month. Shroyer was charged with the use of loud, threatening, and abusive language and engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct during the January 6 riots at the Capitol.
Shortly after he was sentenced, Shroyer was placed in solitary confinement at a Federal Correctional Institution Oakdale in Louisiana due to COVID-19 intake policies. However, when he was released from his first stint in solitary confinement, Shroyer posted an audio message on social media which prompted jail officials to place him back in solitary confinement, according to reports on social media.
"UPDATE: We have received a tip indicating that Owen is now facing 30 days in solitary confinement. He has been moved to another building on the FCI Oakdale prison grounds. We have still not been able to communicate directly. This is the only information we have at this time," Shroyer's account on X wrote on Monday morning.
Norm Pattis, Shroyer's lawyer, told Newsweek on Monday that Shroyer "is apparently once again being punished for speech. I've reached out to prison officials for an explanation. Silence. I'm calling on Speaker Mike Johnson to intervene. The Oakdale prison is in his district."
Conservative commentator Jack Posobiec also reported the incident on X, writing: "BREAKING: Federal govt is now planning to throw TV host Owen Shroyer in solitary for a full month."
In his video speaking about the conditions in prison, Shroyer said: "I'm much more concerned about what's going on out there...I'm extremely blessed because your prayers have come through."
Shroyer said following his short stay in solitary confinement when he was initially sentenced, he spoke to some fellow prisoners who assisted him as "life on the outside begins."
"Of course, that's being hyperbolic since I'm still on the inside, but when you spend seven days in solitary, getting out and into a jail and being able to move feels like the outside. It was bitter cold today... but let me tell you, the 40 degrees wind and rain couldn't have felt any more refreshing than it did," Shroyer said in the video.
Other social media users also reacted to the reports that Shroyer was being placed back in solitary confinement.
"Owen Shroyer is being extremely mistreated in prison. None of this is justified," conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong wrote on X.
Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Prisons via email for comment.
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Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
