Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle, has been returned to federal custody in Florida, the United States, after allegedly removing his ankle monitor in violation of his pretrial release conditions.
Markle, 82, appeared before a federal magistrate judge in Tampa on Tuesday but was denied bond after prosecutors alleged that he removed the electronic monitoring device earlier that day.
According to court documents, US Judge Lindsay S Griffin ruled that Markle had breached the conditions of his release.
The judge revoked his pretrial release, citing concerns about his accommodation and the potential risks to the community.
Griffin described Markle’s housing situation as “untenable”, stating in the order that “based on the lack of suitable housing, no condition or combination of conditions would reasonably assure the safety of any other person or the community and the defendant’s appearance in court”.
The judge also directed that Markle undergo a medical evaluation and receive all necessary prescribed medication unless discontinued by a physician.
Reacting to the development, the US attorney for Central California, Bill Essayli, wrote on X on Tuesday, “Release conditions are court orders, not suggestions.”
“We will continue to prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law,” he added.
Markle was arrested last week following an FBI search of storage units in Los Angeles registered in his name.
The units, which he had reportedly rented since 2008, were searched under warrants issued by authorities.
The US Department of Justice said FBI agents recovered about 78 items, including film negatives, slides and books allegedly containing child sexual abuse material.
Witnesses reportedly identified Markle in two images suspected to contain the material.
According to the allegations, the man shown in the images appeared to be in his 30s or 40s, suggesting that the alleged abuse may have occurred decades ago.
Markle, who has denied possessing images of child sexual abuse, was charged with one count of possessing indecent images of children.
Following his arrest, he was initially placed under house detention and ordered to wear an electronic location-monitoring device.
FBI Director Kash Patel said last week that Markle “allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions”.
However, Markle has described the allegations as “sick lies”.
The former television lighting director moved to the Philippines in 2025 after suffering a series of strokes.
He lived in Cebu until May before relocating to Florida, where he was reportedly undergoing rehabilitation following the amputation of his leg.
Markle has been estranged from his daughter, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, since 2018.
The BBC reported that Meghan ended contact with her father last year after informing him that she and the authorities knew he had abused young girls.
In a previously released statement, Meghan confirmed the existence of a letter to her father, saying, “I am deeply distressed… my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed.”
She also said she hoped the circumstances would help explain why she had largely severed ties with him and did “not allow him to have contact with our children”.
