// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
Meghan's father Thomas Markle detained for allegedly cutting off ankle monitor, officials say
Thomas Markle was placed under house detention at his assisted living facility in Florida last week
Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has been detained in Florida for allegedly removing his ankle monitor, according to justice department officials in Los Angeles.
Markle appeared before a federal magistrate judge in the Florida city of Tampa after allegedly removing the monitor at 01:45 local time (06:45 GMT), a justice department (DoJ) spokesperson told the BBC.
The judge ordered him jailed without bond and he is now in federal custody, the spokesperson said.
Markle, who has previously denied possessing images of child sex abuse, was arrested in Florida last week and placed under house detention. He was also ordered to wear a location monitoring device.
US Judge Lindsay S Griffin said on Tuesday that Markle's housing situation "had become untenable", according to court documents.
Griffin cited a "lack of suitable housing", writing in the order that "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".
He also ordered a medical evaluation for Markle and said he "must receive all necessary and prescribed medication unless discontinued by a physician".
"Release conditions are court orders, not suggestions," Bill Essayli, the US attorney for Central California, wrote on X on Tuesday about Markle's alleged removal of his ankle monitor.
"We will continue to prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law," Essayli added.