U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) sent a letter to the Warden F.J. Bowers of the Federal Correctional Institution in Memphis on Tuesday which urged him to immediately transfer unjustly convicted J6 defendant Stewart Parks to the facility’s minimum security camp.
Ogles sent his letter following the Sunday report from The Tennessee Star that revealed Parks is not in the minimum security camp where he was originally expected to serve his sentence, and is instead in a part of the federal prison that houses gang members, murderers and child molesters.
Citing the report by The Star, Ogles explained, “I write to urge you to remove January 6 defendant Stewart Parks to the minimum-security satellite camp at FCI Memphis for the duration of his incarceration.”
“Given Mr. Parks’ lack of a criminal record (alongside personal considerations including difficulty hearing and a speech impediment), it is unfortunate to see that he has now been placed in a facility alongside murderers, child molesters, and gangs,” wrote Ogles.
The congressman cited a recent Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) audit of the facility which found “several allegations of inmate-on-inmate sexual abuse and harassment, with no charges being filed,” and noted that Parks has reported “subpar living conditions, which include living in a cell prone to flooding.”
Ogles then appeared to reference Washington, D.C. District Judge Amit P. Mehta, who refused Parks’ bid to remain out of prison while appealing his sentence in an ruling that also accused Parks of lying in court without offering evidence.
“While the sentence itself is arguably a result of blatant political retribution by a well-known ‘activist’ masquerading as a district court judge,” wrote Ogles, “it is at least objectively clear to anyone that Mr. Parks does not represent a threat to himself or others.”
Ogles reiterated that Parks “does not have a criminal record” and asserted that he “should be allowed to serve out the duration of his sentence in the satellite camp.”
The congressman gave Bowers and FCI Memphis until Friday to respond.
“While I normally would not request such a short timeframe,” Ogles acknowledged, “it reflects the extenuating circumstances behind Mr. Parks’ incarceration.”
In addition to the issues outlined by Parks after reporting to FCI Memphis, the facility boasts a smuggling issue that has generated media reports for more than a decade. While weapons were previously smuggled into the prison, a report from last summer suggested smartphone smuggling is currently at “epidemic” levels.
Parks was sentenced to spend eight months in the federal facility by Mehta, who also refused the effort by former Trump administration adviser Peter Navarro to remain free pending his appeal of his conviction for refusing a subpoena from the House January 6 Committee.
In his final appearance on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy prior to his self surrender to FCI Memphis, Parks suggested his treatment in federal courts is meant to send a message to other January 6 defendants.
“It’s like the more I talk to the media, the more I bring this to the attention of the public, the judicial elites in DC want to stomp me down even more and hush me up,” Parks told Leahy, the editor-in-chief of The Star. Parks added, “It’s like they don’t want other defendants to feel emboldened or encouraged by it.”
Read the letter:
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
I’m unsure whether to praise Ogles for helping him during imprisonment, or to scold him for not trying to get him out!
Is this due process?