The owner of the Myrtle Beach Wildlife Safari, and Tiger King star Bhagavan "Doc" Antle has been released from jail on bond, according to jail records.
Antle had been kept at J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Horry County, according to the online records he was released at 5:18 p.m.
Antle was granted bond Monday by Magistrate Judge Thomas E. Rogers III, the safari owner is facing federal money laundering charges.
He was given a $250,000 secured bond. Antle had been in jail since June 3, when he was arrested in Horry County by the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
According to prosecutors the conditions of Antle's bond include:
- His son will act as a third-party custodian and is responsible for ensuring he makes court appearances and complies with the conditions.
- Location monitoring wherein his movements are limited to the Myrtle Beach Safari Park.
- He is not to violate state or federal law.
An FBI agent previously testified that Antle and two other men laundered over $505,000 by creating a fake business called Socastee Landscaping to make the transactions seem legitimate. An audio recording was also played of a conversation Antle had with an FBI informant about how to obtain fake social security cards.
A previously unsealed criminal complaint also detailed how the proceeds were part of an operation to smuggle illegal immigrants across the Mexican border into the United States.
Antle is also facing charges in Virginia. That includes in June a grand jury indicted Antle on felony animal trafficking charges.
On Monday night, PETA released the following statement about his bond being granted:
“Doc” Antle’s days of harassing big cats for photo ops are numbered, as the FBI agent who testified at Antle’s detention hearing made it clear that additional federal charges are expected within the month. PETA blew the whistle on Antle’s apparent “charity” scam, and now that he faces state wildlife trafficking and federal money laundering charges, his legal woes are mounting—making it only a matter of time before this sleazy showman is finally shut down.