Thomas Markle Detained in Florida After Removing Ankle Monitor, Officials Say

Thomas Markle, father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has been taken into custody in Florida after allegedly tampering with his ankle monitor, justice department officials in Los Angeles said.

He appeared before a federal magistrate in Tampa, where the alleged tampering occurred at 01:45 local time (06:45 GMT), according to a Department of Justice spokesperson who briefed the BBC.

The judge ordered his detention without bail, placing him in federal custody, the spokesperson added.

Markle, who previously denied possessing images of child sexual abuse, was apprehended in Florida last week and placed under house arrest; he was subsequently required to wear an electronic monitoring device.

The BBC has reached out to Markle’s representatives.

“Release conditions are court orders, not suggestions,” wrote Bill Essayli, U.S. attorney for Central California, on X Tuesday. “We are asking the court to revoke his release and detain him pending trial, and we will continue to prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law.”

Markle’s initial arrest was made last week after the FBI executed search warrants at Los Angeles storage units registered to him, which he has rented since 2008, with the last payment made in October this year, the Department of Justice said.

Agents seized roughly 78 items inside the units—film negatives, slides, and books—allegedly containing child sexual abuse material, the FBI said.

Witnesses positively identified Markle in two of the images that are believed to contain child sexual abuse material.

The man pictured appears to be in his 30s to 40s, suggesting the alleged abuse occurred decades ago, given Markle’s current age of 82.

During his court appearance last week, Markle did not enter a plea; the court imposed several pre‑trial conditions, including home detention.

He faces a single charge of possessing indecent images of children, the DOJ said.

FBI Director Kash Patel said last week that Markle “allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions.”

Markle has dismissed the allegations as “sick lies.”

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