‘Tiger King’ Joe Exotic wants Colorado Gov. Polis to make a prisoner swap with him and Tina Peters
Mar 5, 2026, 4:55 PM | Updated: Mar 11, 2026, 2:08 pm
It’s been six years since the world was introduced to Tiger King, and Joe Exotic is still finding ways to make the news, even from prison!
On Wednesday evening (Mar. 4), Joseph Maldonado, aka Joe Exotic, who is currently seven years into a 21-year prison sentence for orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot against his rival, Carole Baskin, and for multiple paperwork violations pertaining to wildlife, emailed Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Colorado First Gentleman Marlon Reis and Colorado Lieutenant Governor Dianne Primavera with an idea: A prisoner swap that would place him in Colorado custody and Tina Peters in federal custody.
Peters is currently a year and a half into a nine-year sentence on state charges related to unauthorized voting equipment access related to the 2020 election, but there have been talks about clemency.
The Tiger King’s letter mentions his affiliation to the LGBTQ+ community, like Polis, his health as well as the Netflix documentary. By freeing him, Exotic wrote that Polis would be “a national hero.” He ended the letter, saying, “I promise that you will not be disappointed and I will make you proud.”
Polis’ office has yet to comment.
