April 3, 2019: Prisoners at a private facility in Mississippi attacked a guard and set fire to part of their unit. The guard was airlifted to a hospital as a result.
2019
26
Mar
Coordinated Hunger Strike at Two Wisconsin Prisons
March 26, 2019- ongoing: Nine prisoners at two Wisconsin prisons began a hunger strike demanding an end to indefinite solitary confinement. Their demands cited the recently elected governor’s campaign promises to reform solitary confinement practices. The hunger strike was timed to start on Madison Action Day, an annual prison reform lobby day. Outside supporters also organized a call-in campaign.
25
Mar
Mass Escape at Nash County Detention Center, North Carolina
March 25, 2019: Five inmates identified a camera blind spot and escaped through a hole in the fence on Monday night.
22
Mar
Attack on Guards at Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, Nebraska
March 22, 2019: One staff member was stabbed and kicked by two inmates after a door was mistakenly opened.
18
Mar
Hunger Strike at Holman Correctional Facility, Alabama
March 18, 2019: Eight prisoners began a hunger strike in response to being placed in solitary confinement without due cause.
15
Mar
Disturbance at Covington County Jail, Alabama
March 15, 2019: During a transfer of three prisoners, a group of “unruly” prisoners engaged in what the sheriff’s department called a “riot”—although they did not specify what that entailed. According to the sheriff’s department, the prisoners were upset because they believed that one of the prisoners being transferred had been pushed to the floor, although the sheriff claims the prisoner actually jumped.
11
Mar
Uprising at Maui Community Correctional Center, Hawaii
March 11, 2019: At least 42 prisoners refused to return to their cells at the end of recreation time and instead caused “significant damage” to prison infrastructure. The uprising occurred in two pods of the housing unit. Prisoners broke sprinklers, leading to flooding in the pod. The prisoners also started a fire which caused smoke damage in a neighboring pod.
08
Mar
Uprising at Crawford County Detention Center, Arkansas
March 8, 2019: When a sergeant and a deputy attempted to remove a prisoner from a pod containing 40 prisoners, the other 39 prisoners interfered. When the prisoner was removed, the rest of the prisoners attacked prison infrastructure, destroying televisions, lights, ceiling tiles, phones and the sprinkler system, which caused significant flooding.
04
Mar
Uprising at The Hills Youth and Family Services, Minnesota
March 4, 2019: A disturbance began when a detainee at the privately-owned and operated residential youth treatment center hit a staff member in the face. The event escalated until a large group of detainees had barricaded themselves in a room while other small groups were roaming the building.
15
Feb
Hunger Strike at Suffolk County House of Corrections, Massachusetts
February 15-20, 2019: Seventy-two ICE detainees in the 8-2 unit of the Suffolk County House of Corrections launched a hunger strike in response to a number of grievances related to jail conditions. The hunger strikers presented a list of demands to prison staff on February 10 which include problems with specific staff members as well as a number of grievances related to conditions at the jail.
