When Savannah Chrisley took the stage at the 2024 Republican National Convention Tuesday night, she had two names in mind. Or, rather, two numbers.
“72600019, and 72601019,” she told the crowd. “These may be just numbers to you, but to me, they’re my whole heart. These numbers are my parents’ identification numbers in our federal prison system.”
Chrisley, a former TV reality show personality who starred on “Chrisley Knows Best” with her parents Todd and Julie Chrisley, was there as part of the “Make America Safe Again” evening to talk about her parents incarceration for tax evasion and wire fraud.
“My family was persecuted by rogue prosecutors in Fulton County due to our public profile. I know, Fulton County. They know how to do it down there, don’t they,” she said.
“I’ll never forget what the prosecutor said in the most heavily Democrat county in the state before an Obama-appointed judge. He called us the Trumps of the South,” Chrisely said, to boos from the crowd.
“Now, hey, it’s fun,” she said. “He meant it as an insult. But let me tell you, boy, do I wear it as a badge of honor.”
Chrisley has been vocal about the treatment of her parents in prison, claiming they are being treated very poorly in the facilities. In an episode of her podcast, Savannah and her brother Chase claimed the couple had no air conditioning in either of their facilities and also said the prisons had “black mold, asbestos” and, in Julie’s case, snakes “slithering on the floor.”
In a later interview with Entertainment Tonight, she said her speaking out got them targeted with worse treatment.
Chrisley used her time at the Fiserv Forum to accuse the “corrupt” Biden family of having a “two-faced justice system” and persecuting former President Donald Trump, who was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying records to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said they had sex.
“Let’s face it, Hunter Biden is roaming around free and attending classified meetings,” she said, referencing President Biden’s son’s conviction on gun charges. “And let’s face it, look at what they’re doing to countless Christians and conservatives that the government has labeled extremists.”
Who is Savannah Chrisley?
Savannah Faith Chrisley is a 26-year-old reality TV star, actor and podcaster from Atlanta, Georgia. She is most known for her appearances in “Chrisley Knows Best,” “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test,” and “Sharknado: The 4th Awakens.”
Chrisley also won Miss Tennessee Teen USA in 2016 and placed in the top 15 at Miss Teen USA 2016, and founded the beauty line “Sassy by Savannah.” This year she was unmasked as (spoilers) the “Afghan Hound” on the “Wizard of Us” night of “The Masked Singer.”
“I don’t sing — not in the car, the shower, anywhere,” Chrisley joked to The Tennessean. But in her on-air tease during the episode, she said, “I want to make my family smile and laugh from afar, and that’s what’s giving me the courage tonight.”
Last year, her ex-fiancé, former professional ice hockey player Nicolas Kerdiles, died after being after being involved in a motorcycle crash in Nashville, Tennessee.
Chrisley is currently dating Robert Shiver, a senior vice president at Senior Life Insurance and a former offensive lineman for Auburn University. He has three children with his estranged wife, former Miss Houston County (Alabama) 2005 Lindsay Shiver, who has been accused of conspiring to kill him in 2023, three months after each of them filed for divorce against the other.
In January, Chrisley teased a new, “less-scripted reality show” on her podcast, “Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley,” which would focus on current life with the Chrisleys with the parents in prison and the minor children, Grayson and Chloe, in Savannah Chrisley’s custody.
“It’s definitely happening,” she said.
Who are Julie and Todd Chrisley?
Todd and Julie Chrisley, who portrayed themselves as real estate tycoons, gained fame with their USA Network reality show “Chrisley Knows Best,” which followed their tight-knit, boisterous family and the Chrisleys’ lavish lifestyle in Atlanta and Nashville. The show drew in more than 2 million viewers by its eighth season and inspired spin-offs such as “Growing Up Chrisley” and “According to Chrisley.”
The shows featuring the Chrisleys continued to air despite their legal troubles — up until the reality TV couple was sentenced to prison. Prosecutors said the reality TV couple was driven by greed as they engaged in an extensive bank fraud scheme and then hid their wealth from tax authorities.
Why are Julie and Todd Chrisley, reality TV stars, in prison?
Todd Chrisley, 55, and Julie Chrisley, 51, were found guilty of committing tax evasion and defrauding community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans in June 2022. Julie Chrisley was additionally convicted of obstruction of justice and wire fraud.
The couple was first sentenced to 12 and seven years in prison, respectively, in November of 2022. In addition to their prison sentences, they each received an order of 16 months probation from U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross in Atlanta, news outlets reported.
A few weeks ago, the Chrisleys were further ordered to turn over $30,000 held in an Alabama trust fund to help pay for their $17 million judgment after their guilty verdict.
When will Todd and Julie Chrisley be released from prison?
It’s been a year and a half since Julie and Todd Chrisley began their prison sentences for bank fraud. But instead of the respective seven- and 12-year sentences, each has had their prison time slightly reduced.
In December, the Palm Beach Post reported Julie Chrisley would be released from the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky on Sept. 4, 2028, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons site. She was reassigned there from the federal prison camp in Marianna, Florida in January 2023 for unknown reasons. Overall, her sentence was reduced by more than a year.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons Todd Chrisley, who is serving time at FPC Pensacola, described on its site as a “minimum security federal prison camp,” will be released Nov. 23, 2032.
The couple is appealing their convictions.
Contributing: Christopher Cann, USA TODAY