Joe Rogan Rages Over Epstein NOT Being in 'Protective Custody' as Pedo Claimed Dirty Cop Tried to 'Kill Him' Behind Bars 18 Days Before He Was Found Dead
Joe Rogan has major questions about why Jeffrey Epstein wasn't held in protective custody at the time he died.
Feb. 3 2026, Published 5:45 p.m. ET
Joe Rogan fumed about why Jeffrey Epstein wasn't in "protective custody" after his 2019 arrest on sex-trafficking charges, as he was controversially found dead in his prison cell a month later, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The podcaster, 58, huffed on his Joe Rogan Experience episode on Tuesday, February 3, that one of the "most high-profile defendants ever" wasn't kept safe while in New York's Metropolitan Correctional Center. Rogan pointed out how Epstein had alleged that at least one person tried to kill him before he was found dead in his cell from what authorities claimed was a suicide.
Jeffrey Epstein Was Jailed With an Accused Mass Murderer
The popular podcaster was baffled over the lack of eyes on Epstein before his death.
"It's weird that they took a guy who is one of the most high-profile defendants ever, and you put him in jail with a mass murderer. Kind of crazy," Rogan opined about how Esptein was bunkmates with Nicholas Tartaglione.
The former cop was in custody at the time, awaiting trial for the 2016 kidnappings and killings of four men. He was convicted in April 2023 and sentenced to life in prison in June 2024.
"You put him in jail with a cop who had killed drug dealers," Rogan continued about Epstein and his dangerous cellmate.
"A juiced-up gigantic cop who was obviously a psychopath. And then 18 days before he died, he complained that that guy tried to kill him," the UFC commentator noted about Epstein's allegations.
Epstein Thought His Bunkmate 'Tried to Kill' Him
Epstein's former bunkmate Nicholas Tartaglione was convicted of quadruple murder in April 2023.
CBS News obtained documents about the July 23, 2019, alleged attack on Epstein by Tartaglione.
Epstein reportedly told corrections officers he had been attacked by his bunkmate after they entered the cell to find him unresponsive and Tartaglione shouting, "I did nothing."
"He sat up on the bed and began telling me that he [thinks] his bunkie … tried to kill him," one of the responding officers detailed in a memo about what Epstein stated after regaining consciousness.
The convicted s-- pest told a senior officer that Tartaglione was behind his attack and that he previously said things to him that made him "feel threatened."
Tartaglione claimed he was only trying to revive his bunkmate, and Epstein eventually backed off from the attack accusations, saying he couldn't remember exactly what happened to him.
'It's Just Crazy' Epstein Wasn't in 'Protective Custody'
Rogan also called out the 'missing' time in the Epstein jail footage.
Much like the circumstances of Epstein’s eventual death, there is no surveillance video documenting the incident with Tartaglione, as footage was either never recorded or later unaccounted for because of malfunctions in the jail's camera system.
"It's just crazy that this guy wasn't in protective custody. It's crazy that the cameras go down. It's crazy that the footage that they've released is weird because it's missing time," Rogan lamented about how the surveillance cameras weren't working properly when Epstein was found dead in his cell on August 10, 2019.
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'I Do Not Believe He Died by Suicide'
Jeffrey Epstein's ex Ghislaine Maxwell said she doesn't believe his death was a suicide.
Epstein's death was ruled a suicide by hanging in his jail cell, although the determination has always remained controversial. He was a high-profile arrestee known to have vast connections with the rich and powerful amid his s-- trafficking allegations.
The inmate was alone in his cell at the time of his death after his bunkmate had been moved out, despite reportedly being under suicide watch.
The correctional officers assigned to monitor Epstein did not complete the required cell checks the day he died, and no clear surveillance footage exists showing what occurred inside his cell.
Even Epstein's ex-girlfriend and madam, Ghislaine Maxwell, cast doubts on his death being a suicide in an August 2025 interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
"I do not believe he died by suicide, no," Maxwell stated about her ex's death, although she wasn't able to provide any insight or speculation into who might have killed him.
