Infowars host Owen Shroyer has allegedly been put in solitary confinement for “23 hours” a day while serving a sentence tied to his involvement in the January 6 insurrection.
An update posted on his X, formerly Twitter, account, reads: “Owen will remain in solitary confinement until 11/28 at the earliest. At that time his normal privileges will be reinstated. For now he is only able to communicate via mail. Despite 23 hours a day of lockdown, he remains in good spirits. ‘I’m as mentally strong as ever.'” It is unclear who posted on Shroyer’s account.
In September, Shroyer was sentenced to two months in prison for taking part in the January 6 insurrection, after he admitted to leading a march to near the top of the Capitol’s steps, but did not enter the building. He pleaded guilty in June to illegally entering a restricted area—a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum sentence of one year behind bars.
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While he did not enter the Capitol himself, prosecutors said his followers did and that he spread election disinformation and “calls for violence” in the weeks leading up to January 6, citing an Infowars video that included a graphic of Shroyer and Alex Jones calling for a march on the Capitol.
Recent updates from the account have put out various claims—none of which Newsweek has been able to verify—regarding his stint in prison. On November 14, the account alleged Shroyer went “several weeks” without speaking to his lawyer.
The account says the right-wing pundit has been taken to solitary following the publishing of a “statement from prison” recording of a phone call made by Shroyer to the account on October 31. Shroyer said that he hoped to “pull the impossible” and host his own radio show from inside the federal prison.
Newsweek is working to clarify the claim that Shroyer has been put in solitary confinement
Norm Pattis, his lawyer, told Newsweek 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.”
Shroyer’s account also said, on November 1, that it will “release further information once we are 100 percent certain that it will not result in further punishment. At this time we’re forced to keep updates to a minimum for the sake of his well-being.”
Shroyer was allegedly earlier placed in solitary because of coronavirus intake protocol, which was described as “absurd” and “pathetic” by the account run in his name.
Since being incarcerated, Shroyer has been supported by those close to Donald Trump. The former president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., posted on X: “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? This is dystopian behavior and the govt’s unfettered power must be put in check now!”
“Owen Shroyer is being extremely mistreated in prison. None of this is justified,” conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong wrote on X.
Newsweek has reached out to the Federal Bureau of Prisons via email for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.