FCI Elkton inmates want release, $935 billion — and a yacht

LISBON — A man sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for distributing child pornography wants an early release — along with $935 billion to buy an island where he and other inmates can live "in peace."

Anthony L. Cook took a plea deal in 2013 on a felony count of receiving and distributing child pornography in Ohio's Northern District federal court in Toledo and is now an inmate at FCI Elkton in Lisbon.

In a new $935 billion lawsuit against the U.S. government filed Friday in the state's Northern District court, Cook and several other FCI Elkton inmates claim they are renouncing their U.S. citizenship to form a new sovereign entity, the Avalon Tribal Government, which appears to be based on Druidism.

The Avalon Tribal Government — of which Cook has named himself "High Chieftain," according to the complaint — is named as plaintiff in the suit. The suit is categorized as relating to habeas corpus — or unlawful detention — involving an "alien detainee."

The suit, filed pro se by Cook and six other inmates, takes aim at overcrowding issues at FCI Elkton, along with unfair living and working conditions and instances of sexual harassment and sexual assault against those inmates.

One of the plaintiff inmates claims he did not receive the blood thinners he needed to prevent clotting until he was ultimately hospitalized for blood clots in his lungs and leg.

"The medical care is not acceptable," reads the complaint. "We have to fight to get the health care we need. If we need something … we have to fight for months to get them. We are often taken off medicine that we need because they do not think we need them."

The group also claims Druidism is not properly represented in the prison system.

The suit, however, doesn't appear to categorize the $935 billion amount as damages.

The suit seeks release for all the Avalon inmates, along with a 169-foot yacht on which the inmates can live under electronic monitoring — while receiving a $6,000 monthly stipend — until the suit is settled.

Using $269 billion of the suit's demand, the plaintiffs would buy an island from the Malaysian government to establish their new sovereign entity — one where sex crime convicts won't have to register as sex offenders, the complaint states.

The plaintiffs have offered to settle for $531 billion, meaning the U.S. government "will save $135.5 billion."

Avalon Tribal Government intends to hold open citizenship application periods every five years for all Wiccan and Druidic practitioners in FCI Elkton.

"We would like to live in peace," the suit states.

This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 3:52 AM with the headline "FCI Elkton inmates want release, $935 billion — and a yacht."