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Bryan Kohberger, who was convicted of killing four University of Idaho students last year, has submitted multiple complaints from behind bars, claiming that he is being threatened and harassed by other inmates. The 30-year-old former criminology Ph.D. student, who is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole, has requested to be moved to a different unit in prison because he feels unsafe.

In documents obtained for the first time by People, Kohberger claimed that he has received “minute-by-minute” verbal threats since being assigned to J Block at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution. The block is the highest-level housing unit at the prison, where high-profile and high-risk offenders live, including those on death row. In his grievance, Kohberger said he has been threatened with sexual assault in graphic terms, with one inmate telling him, “I’ll b— f— you,” and another saying, “The only a– we’ll be eating is Kohberger’s.”

The complaints were made just days after his arrival at the facility. Kohberger first reported problems in his unit on the second day he spent in J Block, and less than a week later, he submitted a second grievance with the same request. Guards confirmed they had heard inmates make offensive comments directed at Kohberger but did not remember the exact language.

In a handwritten note, Kohberger requested a transfer to B Block, a less loud unit. “Tier 2 of J Block is an environment that I wish to transfer from if possible,” he wrote. “I request transfer to B Block immediately. I wish to speak with you soon.” He also emphasized that he had not engaged in any other disruptive behavior in the unit, specifically mentioning that he had not participated in “flooding” or “striking.” In prison vernacular, flooding is the practice of clogging toilets or sinks to flood a tier, while striking may be used to describe a range of behavior, from refusing to work to fighting and other rule violations.

As of this week, Kohberger has remained in J Block, and prison officials have not indicated whether they would consider moving him elsewhere. The Idaho Department of Correction has also declined to make any public statements about the matter.

An Obvious Target

Kohberger is not the first time he has experienced pushback from fellow inmates. During his initial incarceration at the county jail, inmates often mocked him in the exercise yard, including one who shouted, “you suck” during a video call with his mother. Another man described Kohberger as a “f—ing weirdo” and said he would have assaulted Kohberger during their time in jail together, but he had been afraid of Kohberger’s potential connections.

Court documents in his case also described Kohberger as an awkward person who lacks basic social skills and made frequent note of his “piercing stare.” His perceived demeanor, paired with the notoriety of the case, have made Kohberger an obvious target in the eyes of prison consultants and others with an understanding of prison culture. “High-profile offenders almost always have a target on their back,” one prison consultant told People. “In Kohberger’s case, his demeanor only adds to that risk.”

He has lost weight since being in custody for two and a half years and struggled with adjusting to prison life at the state’s most secure institution. The prison is home to some of Idaho’s most notorious and dangerous inmates, including just last month convicted murderer Chad Daybell, who was sentenced to death. In that case, prison officials went as far as changing which inmates Kohberger lived with due to concerns that he could be killed.

That fear has not faded, with Kohberger and his crimes already drawing comparisons to the infamous Jeffrey Dahmer, who was murdered by another inmate in 1994 after years of targeted violence. “Every time we see a high-profile case like that,” one prison expert said, “the natural question is, who will be the next Dahmer?”

The former grad student is expected to remain at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution for the rest of his life under intensive supervision. It is not yet known whether Kohberger’s requests for a transfer from J Block will be granted. But if the complaints are any indication, he is under constant verbal assault, and his presence in the unit has already brought unwanted attention on the tier.