Convicted leader of the NXIVM cult, Keith Raniere, has filed a lawsuit with his lawyers claiming he was attacked by a fellow prisoner and sex offender before being wrongly punished for the incident.
According to the lawsuit, filed against the U.S. Justice Department and the Bureau of Prisons and widely reported in the media, Raniere was having breakfast in the early morning hours of July 26 “when he was assaulted by inmate Maurice Withers with a closed fist on Mr. Raniere’s head and face,” at U.S. Penitentiary Tucson in Arizona.
An amended complaint filed this month says Raniere, 62, suffered nausea and dizziness for a week following the attack, which also left him with a black eye and swelling. His lawyers say his requests for ice packs to calm the swelling were denied.
FILE- In this April 13, 2018 courtroom sketch Keith Raniere, second from right, leader of the secretive group NXIVM, attends a hearing at court in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
Elizabeth Williams via The Associated Press
The court papers do not specify what led to the alleged assault or whether the other inmate was aware of Raniere’s past crimes.
His lawyers claim that Raniere “did not fight back” and that he has “limited knowledge of the assault,” but was still given a disciplinary ticket for fighting and placed in the prison’s Special Housing Unit. The disciplinary ticket was eventually dismissed, but his lawyers contend he remains in a segregation unit.
“Due to SHU placement, Plaintiff was denied contact legal visits with his attorneys and forced to either yell through plexiglass or be handcuffed and shackled to a belly chain to communicate with his attorneys,” Raniere’s legal team said.
Lawyers for NXIVM founder Keith Raniere speak about guilty verdict, say he’ll appeal – Jun 19, 2019
In a sworn affidavit, given Sept. 6, Raniere says he feels he’s being punished by prison staff in “retaliation for the recent publicity that my case has received as a result of my efforts to challenge my conviction.”
A bureau official told NBC News they will not be discussing the case or incident.
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“For safety and security reasons the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) does not provide information about conditions of confinement or internal security practices for any particular inmate,” spokesperson Donald Murphy said in a statement Thursday.
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“The BOP is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all inmates in our population, our staff, and the public. Humane treatment of the men and women in our custody is a top priority.”
Withers, 33, is in prison for sex trafficking crimes in Madison, Wisc.
