Renato Subotic, an Australian MMA coach, had his dream trip to the U.S. for a sold-out seminar turn into a nightmare when a visa issue landed him in federal prison for 24 hours before he was deported. What started as an exciting journey to share his MMA passion flipped into a raw ordeal of frustration, fear, and disbelief the moment he reached the border.
“From Seminar to Cell: My 24 Hours in a U.S. Federal Prison, arrested for too much knowledge in MMA,” and it’s a rollercoaster of frustration, fear, and disbelief.
“I arrived in America excited, ready to coach my seminar. It was supposed to be a great trip,” he said. But things went off the rails fast. “Instead, I got stopped at the border.”
At immigration, trouble started right away.
“Immigration pulled me aside and took me into an isolated room. The officer interviewing me looked like he was looking for something wrong. It was obvious why I was in the U.S. I gave them every specific detail about my seminar, my plans, everything,” he explained.
He tried to cooperate fully during the three-hour grilling.
“They kept me in that room for three hours, asking endless questions, I was collaborative,” he added.
Then came the bombshell.
“They told me there was a mistake with my visa and that they were taking me to jail ‘until they figure out what’s next.’ Just like that. No clear explanation, no chance to talk to anyone, no rights. They handcuffed me, put me in a car, and drove me to federal prison,” he recalled.
Chaos Inside the Prison Walls
Once inside, it got worse.
“They stripped me of everything. Took my clothes, gave me jail clothes, fingerprinted me, took photos, searched me. Gave me a blanket and sheet. Then they walked me to my block — 4B,” he said.
The prison was a mess.
“The moment the door opened, it was chaos. Fights between gangs. People screaming. Arguing over food, what to watch on TV, crazy people running around. Madness. The guard walked me to cell 221, where there was a filthy mattress with patches of piss and blood,” he described.
The guard pushed him to grab food fast.
“The guard told me to hurry up so I could get some food. I dropped my stuff and went downstairs. While I was in line, four guys started beating the hell out of another guy, smashing his head into the fence. I wasn’t even hungry. I just grabbed an apple, ate it, and walked straight back to my cell,” he said.
Back in his cell, trouble found him again.
“When I got back, two Mexican guys were in there, stealing my blanket and sheet. I said, ‘Hey bro, what are you doing?’ One of them replied, ‘Getting my stuff.’ I said, ‘That’s my stuff.’ And he looked at me and said, ‘What are you gonna do about it?’ We had a fight. I got my stuff back,” he recounted.
The fight drew a crowd.
“The other one ran out of the cell, screaming, the people in the nearby cells came to watch what was going on. When the guards rushed up, no one said anything. The guard looked at me and said, ‘You got a good welcome. Keep your head straight, or you’re gonna stay here longer,’” he added.
After that chaos, deportation loomed.
“At the airport, they kept me in a room without telling me when I’d fly. Eventually, I got the info: I was being deported,” he said.
An officer escorted him to the plane with a surprising apology.
“An officer walked me to the plane. Before taking off the handcuffs, he looked at me and said: ‘I’m sorry this happened to you. They messed up big. It shouldn’t have gone this way,’” he remembered. The whole thing felt unreal. “This whole experience was unreal. It’s insane how easily someone can take away your freedom, lock you in a federal prison, without a clear reason. No explanation. No warning. Just like that, you’re treated like the worst criminal,” he reflected.
He questioned the fairness of it all.
“I believe in respecting the rules. But putting someone in federal prison over a missing detail in a visa application? That’s crazy,” he said.
Back home, he’s still reeling.
“I apologise to everyone who attended to my seminar it was sold out, I was excited you meet you and share my for the sport with all of you,” he told his fans. Now in Australia, he’s ready to act. “Now I’m back in Australia, I’ll speak with my lawyers something has to be done about the way I was treated. Hope this never happen to nobody else,” he concluded.
His story is a raw look at how a simple trip went horribly wrong, and he’s not letting it slide quietly.
