Ghislaine Maxwell ‘Mugshot’ Conspiracy Theory Falls Apart Following DOJ Statement

When it comes to Ghislaine Maxwell and her late boyfriend sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein, conspiracy theories are prevalent. People still believe that Epstein himself was murdered in prison, with conflicting reports helping to stoke the fires on social media. Since her arrest back in July, all eyes have been on Maxwell, but few details on her actual condition and status have been shared outside of lawyer correspondence and unsealed documents.

We haven’t even gotten a chance to see her mugshot, which is enough for many to run with the idea that we’re not being told the whole truth and there’s a conspiracy at hand. Toss in a few political angles, Donald Trump mentioning her on national television while wishing her well and the final moments of her former partner, and you can see where people might run wild.

According to The Daily Dot, many have wondered where Maxwell’s mugshot is and why it hasn’t been made public. Twitter is full of people asking questions and manufacturing their own theories about Maxwell’s status. Some even wonder if she’s actually in custody.

“Can someone please remind me why we all are expected to believe that Ghislaine Maxwell is in custody? Not even so much as a mugshot?” one user wrote. “Why did she even come back to the US? Something is really fishy about the whole situation. Do we all just blindly believe the govt all of a sudden?”

Many similar accusations can be found with a quick search, including a few pointing fingers at figures like Trump, Hillary Clinton, and even The Royal Family. The reality is actually nothing as salacious as people may imagine. According to a statement from the Department of Justice in Newsweek, there is quite a mundane reason for the lack of mugshot.

“We do not release mugshots absent a law enforcement purpose, for example, when a person is a fugitive,” an FBI spokesperson told the outlet. Since the charges against Maxwell are federal, they fall under the rules set by the DOJ. Mugshots we typically see floating around online usually come from local jurisdictions, though many like New York and San Francisco have changed their policy on releasing the images. It has also become a tricky issue when it comes to publishing them to commercial sites, with journalists and others claiming mugshots should remain in the public record. Meanwhile, those in the mugshots and their advocates point out that a booking photo or mugshot does not aways indicate guilt.

The Daily Dot also notes that the rules were designed to keep juries from being tainted by the photograph. Maxwell is set to head to trial in July 2021 and is currently in isolation from the general population in Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center after pleading not guilty. Bail was denied for the former socialite due to her status as a flight risk and the nature of her alleged crimes.