On a weekend in mid-August, hundreds of inmates at a minimum-security prison in Bryan, Texas, were locked down during their usual time for strolling the grassy campus and visiting with family and friends.

All except one: Ghislaine Maxwell, the 63-year-old associate of Jeffrey Epstein convicted for her role in helping him sexually abuse underage teens. While her fellow inmates were confined to their dormitories after breakfast, Maxwell met with several visitors in the federal prison camp’s chapel, according to people familiar with the matter.

Less than three weeks earlier, the Justice Department had moved Maxwell to Federal Prison Camp Bryan from a higher-security facility in Tallahassee, Fla. Under Federal Bureau of Prisons rules, prisoners with sex-crime convictions like Maxwell’s don’t ordinarily qualify to serve their time in such camps. The transfer followed an interview with senior Justice Department official Todd Blanche during which Maxwell said she had never seen President Trump, during his long association with Epstein, doing anything inappropriate or illegal.

Maxwell’s unexpected arrival upset the camp’s usually relaxed atmosphere, leading to more frequent lockdowns, the addition of armed guards and other changes. Current and former inmates said in interviews that Maxwell appeared to receive unusually favorable treatment at times, sparking resentment from other inmates.

It couldn’t be determined whom Maxwell met with in the chapel that day. Some prisoners heard the lockdown was needed to accommodate important visitors. David Markus, a lawyer for Maxwell, declined to comment.

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