Meghan Markle’s father Thomas cut off his ankle monitor, DOJ says

Thomas Markle was taken back into custody after cutting an electronic monitoring device off his ankle, the US Department of Justice said on Tuesday.The 82-year-old estranged father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was being held ahead of a hearing in federal court in Tampa, Florida, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said.The arrest came shortly after he removed the ankle bracelet at 1:45 a.m., Essayli said.“Four days ago, a federal judge allowed Mr. Markle to remain out of custody pending trial,” Essayli said. “He was ordered to wear a location monitoring device. He allegedly cut the bracelet off at 1:45 a.m. last night. Release conditions are court orders, not suggestions. 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 had first been arrested on Friday, on allegations of keeping child sexual abuse material in storage units in California.That arrest followed the seizure of approximately 78 items, among them slides, film negatives and books that contained suspected child sexual abuse images, held in storage in the Los Angeles area, Essayli said.Thomas is the estranged father of Meghan Markle (Chris Jackson/PA). (PA Wire)When he was detained last week, he was taken by ambulance from a senior care center in Lakeland.Hours later, a judge allowed his release on condition that he be electronically monitored, which typically means wearing an ankle tether. The judge also ordered a mental competency exam and a report by Nov. 20.His daughter, Meghan, married Prince Harry at Windsor Castle in 2018. They have two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.She is an American citizen and an actor who starred in the U.S. television drama Suits.Meghan recently said she was “deeply distressed” by allegations that a collection of child sexual abuse images had been found at her father's former home.She also revealed that a letter containing “troubling allegations” about him had been sent to police in London in 2019.“It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated,” Meghan said of the letter. “I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children was for one reason: to protect them.”