Ghislaine Maxwell’s brother accuses prison guards of ‘physical abuse’ as she awaits trial
The brother of Ghislaine Maxwell has told Sky News he believes prison officers have “physically abused” his sister and her treatment in a New York jail is a “fundamental abuse of human rights” that is “designed to break her”.
In his first UK TV interview, Ian Maxwell said US authorities have mounted a “disinformation campaign” against her.
He also raised concerns over whether she would receive a fair trial.
(L) Ghislaine Maxwell in 2014. In April this year, a photo of her with a ‘black eye’ was released by her lawyer
The British socialite and former girlfriend of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein is awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking, which she denies. She is accused of procuring teenage girls for Epstein to sexually abuse.
In April, Ms Maxwell‘s lawyers released an image which appeared to show her with a black eye.
“I don’t see Ghislaine administering a black eye to herself,” Mr Maxwell said. “I think she has suffered some occasional physical abuse at the hands of her guards. Yes.”
Mr Maxwell also suggested his family would mount a legal challenge under human rights legislation.
“We are going to take it to the UN,” he said. “Take it from me. America has to be held to account, and it will be.”
A spokesperson for the US Federal Bureau of Prisons said: “We are committed to ensuring the safety and security of all inmates in our population, our staff, and the public.
Ghislaine Maxwell has not been seen in public for weeks
“The BOP takes allegations of staff misconduct seriously and consistent with national policy, refers all allegations for investigation, if warranted.”
Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, took his own life in jail in 2019. He was awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
Maxwell was a former girlfriend and friend of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who died in jail in 2019. Pic: Sky UK
Mr Maxwell believes Epstein’s death was a failure of the US judicial system, and his sister is now being blamed.
He said: “There has just simply been a transference of presumed guilt on the part of Jeffrey Epstein without any corroborating evidence. Just simply because she had a relationship.
“He then dies, and they’ve got to find someone to pay the price.”
Ian Maxwell, brother of Ghislaine Maxwell, speaks to Sky News
Mr Maxwell believes the US authorities are responsible for a “disinformation campaign” against his sister.
“We start with a press conference designed to be prejudicial,” he said. “And then we have for the last two or three years a whole plethora of news programmes, documentaries and so forth, which are entirely one-sided.
“There isn’t any possible other way of viewing this, other than the way the accusers have set it up, and their attorneys, and that strikes me as a campaign designed to prejudice my sister in the eyes of the public.”
The Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York declined to comment.
Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers have previously claimed their client has lost hair and over 15 pounds in body weight during her incarceration.
Mr Maxwell believes his sister’s treatment in prison has made it more difficult to prepare her defence, and questioned how Harvey Weinstein, Derek Chauvin and Bernie Madoff could all be granted bail pre-trial, yet his sister’s applications be repeatedly denied.
“It’s designed to break her,” he said. “That is just unjust. It is a fundamental abuse of human rights. And I find that quite shocking.”
“And I think that your viewers, if they are honest, should also find it shocking. Imagine if it was their mother or their sister or their daughter in the same position as my sister. You don’t think you’d kick up a hell of a fuss about it?”
A US federal judge has repeatedly ruled Ghislaine Maxwell poses a flight risk. Prosecutors cited her citizenship in three countries and significant wealth as factors as why bail should be refused.
With one month until Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial, her brother believes her reputation has been “comprehensively trashed” and is concerned she may not receive a fair trial.
“In the court of public opinion…. it seems to me that Ghislaine has already been convicted and the punishment that she is having meted out to her in prison as a pre-trial detainee is precisely what it is. Punishment prior to conviction.
“You are innocent unless and until you are proven guilty.
“But the mountain of allegations made against it and broadcasted and loud hailered around the world is so great, that I have to really ask myself, are we going to get a fair trial?”
Mr Maxwell said he has not spoken to his sister since her arrest, and he would be “shocked” if she was found guilty, but said she would likely appeal.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in New York. Pic: Patrick McMullan 1995/Sky UK
Jill Greenfield, a lawyer who represents some of Epstein’s alleged victims in the UK, said she had confidence in the US legal system and the trial was a vital opportunity for Ms Maxwell’s accusers.
“I think any alleged victim of a sexual assault will very painfully recount their memories of what happened to them.
“But by doing so they speak openly about something where they were, as they see themselves, a victim.
“And I think that can be quite cathartic for that alleged victim and [an] important part of the process to recovery.
“Standing up to an accuser in any sense is a really hard thing for someone to do and to be given and enabled to do that, through a court process, is really important.”
Ghislaine Maxwell is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Her trial is due to begin on 29 November.
America’s military top brass have left their posts to attend a meeting with the US president and defence secretary about the “warrior ethos”.
Hundreds of officers travelled from around the world to attend the occasion at a marine corps base in Quantico, Virginia. It is a rare gathering of the US military’s top tier, all in the one place.
There has been much speculation about the substance of Tuesday’s meeting, given its scale and short notice with minimal explanation.
Donald Trump told NBC News, Sky’s US partner network, it is “really just a very nice meeting talking about how well we’re doing militarily, talking about being in great shape, talking about a lot of good, positive things”.
“We have some great people coming in, and it’s just an esprit de corps,” he said.
“You know the expression ‘esprit de corps?’ That’s all it’s about. We’re talking about what we’re doing, what they’re doing, and how we’re doing.”
Trump and Hegseth watch a US anniversary military parade in Washington in June. Pic: Reuters
‘Department of War’
The officers were summoned by defence secretary Pete Hegseth, who has adopted the slogan “Make America Lethal Again”. Ahead of the meeting, he has said his intention is to outline a new vision for the military and restore what he calls the “warrior ethos”.
Hegseth is the former TV presenter picked by Trump to run the defence department, now rebranded the Department of War. He has a military background, serving as an infantry officer in the National Guard.
His audience in Quantico will number the country’s most senior generals and admirals. Over 800 of the rank of brigadier-general and above will be there, along with their navy equivalents.
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Since he started in post, Hegseth has fired a number of senior officers. In May, he ordered a 20% cut in the number of four-star generals and admirals, and he targeted flag and general officers with a 10% reduction.
A controversial figure, Hegseth has accused some members of senior rank of being responsible for a woke culture and, in the past, has questioned the role of women in the military.
YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5m (£18.1m) to settle a lawsuit brought by Donald Trump after it banned his account following the January 6 Capitol riot.
The US president was suspended from the Google-owned platform over his role in the insurrection, which saw his supporters attempt to stop Joe Biden’s 2020 election win from being ratified.
More than four years on from the violent scenes that left a police officer dead, court documents filed on Monday revealed that $22m (£16.3m) from the settlement will go towards a trust for Washington DC’s National Mall and the construction of a White House ballroom.
The remainder will be paid to other parties involved in the case, including the American Conservative Union.
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Capitol rioter: ‘I was convicted in a show trial’
Google declined to comment on the reasons for the settlement, which does not constitute an admission of liability.
Mr Trump’s YouTube account has been back online since 2023.
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Google’s parent company Alphabet is the third tech firm to settle with Mr Trump over what he perceived as an illegitimate muzzling of him online following the riot.
He was also suspended from Meta’s platforms and Twitter, moves which saw him gravitate towards his own social media platform – Truth Social.
The president and his supporters have falsely maintained that the 2020 election was stolen.
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Meta – which owns Facebook and Instagram – agreed to pay $25m (£18.6m) to settle Mr Trump’s lawsuit, and X (what Twitter became after being bought by Elon Musk in 2022) settled for $10m (£7.4m).
Alphabet boss Sundar Pichai, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and Mr Musk all attended Mr Trump’s inauguration this year, with the latter having been a key contributor to his 2024 election campaign.
He led the Trump administration’s cost-cutting DOGE unit during the early months of 2025.
Five people have been killed, including the gunman, and at least eight others injured after a mass shooting and fire at a Mormon church in Michigan, police have said.
The incident took place at around 10.25am local time on Sunday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, about 50 miles north of Detroit.
The suspect – identified as Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, from the nearby city of Burton – was shot dead by police officers.
He served in the Marines from June 2004 to June 2008 and was deployed in Iraq, Sky News’ US partner network NBC News reported.
What we know about the suspect in the Michigan church shooting
Flames and smoke rising from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc. Pic: Julie J, @Malkowski6April/AP
Sanford drove a vehicle through the front doors of the church before opening fire with an assault rifle, police said.
He then exited the vehicle and began firing rounds at people who were attending Sunday service, before deliberately starting the blaze, police added.
The blaze has been extinguished but authorities believe they will find additional victims in the charred building.
At around 8pm on Sunday (1am in the UK), Grand Blanc Township Chief William Renye confirmed that a further two victims were found in the burned remains of the church, in addition to two other victims who had suffered gunshot wounds.
As many as three improvised devices were found at the scene, according to two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation, NBC reported.
Police believe the number of victims may rise. Pic: AP
According to Chief Renye, when gunfire broke out, people inside the church bravely put themselves at risk to protect the children.
“They were shielding the children who were also present within the church, moving them to safety,” he said. “Just extreme courage.”
Chief Renye said law enforcement officers arrived at the church within 30 seconds of receiving a 911 call. The suspect was “neutralised” in the back parking lot within eight minutes by a Department of Natural Resources officer and a Grand Blanc Township officer, he said.
Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement that “my heart is breaking for the Grand Blanc community” after the shooting.
She added: “Violence anywhere, especially in a place of worship, is unacceptable. I am grateful to the first responders who took action quickly.”
Sheriff: ‘Entire church is on fire’
Genesee County sheriff Christopher Swanson said at around 12.20pm that the “entire church” was on fire, and confirmed that people who were at the church had been evacuated.
Around 20 minutes later, the police department said the fire had been contained.
The incident took place at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc.
US attorney general Pam Bondi confirmed the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were responding to the incident.
US President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that “the suspect is dead, but there is still a lot to learn”, before saying the shooting “appears to be yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America”.
He added: “PRAY for the victims, and their families. THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!”
In the wake of the shooting and fire, the New York Police Department said it would deploy officers to religious institutions across the city “out of an abundance of caution”.
The incident occurred the morning after Russell M Nelson, the oldest-ever president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died aged 101.
Shootings reported in North Carolina, New Orleans, Texas
Meanwhile, authorities responded to a mass shooting at a coastal town in North Carolina late on Saturday, where three people were killed.
Five others were injured in that incident, where someone opened fire from a boat into a crowd at a bar.
Police described the incident as a “highly premeditated” attack.
According to Sky News’ US partner network NBC, Nigel Max Edge, 40, was detained by the Coast Guard and charged with three counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon on Sunday morning.
He remains in custody without bond, jail records show.
Another shooting took place at a south Texas casino early on Sunday, with seven people shot and two killed.
A woman was also killed, and three others were injured in Bourbon Street, New Orleans, early on Sunday after a shooting.
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