Exclusive
Joe Exotic says the prison he’s in is shutting him off from the outside world, but officials there say it was nothing personal — the whole facility was on pause for a bit.
A rep for the Bureau of Prisons — the federal agency overseeing Joe’s new home in Fort Worth, TX — tells TMZ … all of their prison institutions went on a national lockdown last week in response to protests and riots breaking out.
While they were on lockdown, BOP says inmates temporarily had limited access to phones and email — but as of Monday, lockdown’s been lifted and everything’s pretty much the same as it was before.
In regards to letters Joe claims he hasn’t received — implying prison guards are keeping them from him, including potential mail from his hubby, Dillon — BOP flat-out denies that. We’re told even during lockdown, snail mail was being delivered to inmates like usual.
As we reported … Joe said Dillon had gone ice cold on him in terms of communication, but Dillon says he’d been sending letters, and is dismayed to hear Joe’s not getting them.
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Now, BOP refused to comment on Joe’s specific living or medical conditions — which he described as hellish — for safety and privacy reasons.
Remember, Joe says he requires blood infusions every 4 weeks, but claims he hasn’t had one since January. He also darkly predicted he’ll be dead in 2-3 months.