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Ghislaine Maxwell Bail Supporters Received Death Threats, Lawyer Says

Ghislaine Maxwell Bail Supporters Received Death Threats, Lawyer Says

People who are willing to sign a bond to win Ghislaine Maxwell’s release from jail fear for their safety if their names are publicly released, a lawyer for the socialite said.

Some of Maxwell’s supporters have “been the target of repeated physical threats,” which made it necessary for them to ask the judge presiding over her case to hold a nonpublic bail hearing, Christian Everdell, a lawyer for Maxwell, said in a Nov. 30 letter made public Friday. Maxwell faces sex-trafficking charges tied to her former boyfriend, Jeffrey Epstein.

“We are merely seeking the ability to file a renewed bail application for Ms. Maxwell without further risking the safety and privacy of sureties needed to support that application,” the attorney said.

Ghislaine Maxwell Bail Supporters Received Death Threats, Lawyer Says

These people willing to co-sign Maxwell’s bond “have suffered, or legitimately fear they will suffer, terrible personal and professional consequences for having been linked to Ms. Maxwell,” Everdell said “People close to Ms. Maxwell have been physically stalked by members of the tabloid press and have had paparazzi jump out of bushes and in front of their cars to snap pictures of them,” he said.

U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan has rejected Maxwell’s request for a closed hearing and ordered her lawyers to file their letters publicly with redactions.

Maxwell, who’s pleaded not guilty to the charges, has been held in a federal lockup in Brooklyn, New York.

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