No Autopsy For J6 Protester From Tennessee Who Died In Custody

Mark Reno died in federal custody 28 days after his arrest for allegedly shooting at a federal building.

Image: Mark Reno genuflecting before a Eucharistic procession in Knoxville Image Credit: WBIR/YouTube Screenshot

Submitted by Authors Jenny Hay and Taylor Breeden –

On July 18, 2022, a Tennessee man, Mark Reno, was arrested for allegedly shooting at a federal building on July 3, though no bullets, fragments, or casings were ever found.

He died in federal custody on August 15 of the same year, but no autopsy was done.

According to an affidavit written by an FBI agent, the FBI had been surveilling Reno for months, after he told an undercover investigator at a pro-life event that he had participated in the protest at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. 

After his death, the Justice Department accused Reno of an unsolved crime—the arson of Knoxville’s Planned Parenthood. 

Although he was a Tennessee resident, Reno was detained at Laurel County Correctional Center in London, Kentucky. Reno died as a federal prisoner at Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center in Danville, Kentucky, which is in Boyle County. 

According to his death certificate, Reno died from complications due to a bleeding ulcer in the first part of his small intestine (duodenal ulcer with hemorrhage). Contributing conditions included hypertension, diabetes, colonic necrosis, metabolic acidosis, hyperkalemia, and renal failure. He did not receive an autopsy.

Reno’s daughter told us that she personally delivered Reno’s medication for hypertension to U.S. Marshals at Reno’s detention hearing, but that Reno later told her he never received any doses of this medication.

We spoke to the coroner of Boyle County, Dr. Eric Guerrant, who confirmed that Reno did not receive an autopsy, because he died under the care of a physician. 

We queried our U.S. Representative, Tim Burchett, about requirements for autopsy for federal prisoners who die in custody. A staff member responded that federal protocol leaves the decision about autopsy entirely up to the warden:

“The Warden may order an autopsy and related scientific or medical tests to be performed on the body of a deceased inmate of the facility in the event of homicide, suicide, fatal illness or accident, or unexplained death. The autopsy or tests may be ordered in one of these situations only when the Warden determines that the autopsy or test is necessary to detect a crime, maintain discipline, protect the health or safety of other inmates, remedy official misconduct, or defend the United States or its employees from civil liability arising from the administration of the facility (DoJ Program Statement on Autopsies, p. 2).”

According to court records, Reno was repeatedly hospitalized and discharged in the last days of his life. On August 9, he was admitted to St. Joseph Hospital in London, Kentucky. Needing a higher level of care, he was transported directly to Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center where he was treated and discharged back to the prison on August 11. He was admitted again to St. Joseph’s on August 13, only to be discharged back to prison the same day. Finally, on August 14, he was admitted a third time to St. Joseph’s. He was flown by helicopter to Ephraim McDowell where he died on the morning of August 15 at the age of 63. 

His family arrived at Ephraim McDowell about an hour after his death.

More than two months after Reno’s death, the Justice Department issued a press release naming Reno as the arsonist who burned down Knoxville’s Planned Parenthood on December 31, 2021. However, the Knoxville Fire Department later released Planned Parenthood’s security video which captured the real arsonist—a much thinner man than Reno. 

Reno’s family recently made inquiries about a wrongful-death lawsuit but were told that the statute of limitations in Kentucky had expired.

Author Bios: Jenny Hay is the founder of Knoxville Nobility, a Substack publication for local pro-life, pro-family news and insights, including firsthand reporting on Knoxville’s 2021 Planned Parenthood arson. Taylor Breeden is a local pro-life activist with a Bachelor of Science in Communications from the University of Tennessee.