May 11, 2020: A unit at Redgranite Correctional refused to comply with staff directives after the prison was placed on “modified movement” status, a form of lockdown. The modified status was instituted after a guard tested positive for Covid-19.
2020
06
May
Documents Reveal a Series of Protests and Uprisings at Cook County Jail, Chicago
April 29, 2020: Documents recently released by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office reveal numerous incidents of prisoner-led protest and rebellion against guards and staff in the midst of the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak at the facility. As of May 6, more than 500 detainees at the Cook County Jail have tested positive for Covid-19 and 7 have died, according to statistics gathered by Injustice Watch and documents filed in court.
02
May
Protest and Hunger Strike at Dillwyn Correctional Center, Virginia
May 2: In early May, a hunger strike and protest erupted due to COVID-19 at Dillwyn Correction Center in Virginia. Shortly after the disturbances, several prisoners were transferred to another prison for “security reasons,” but the Department of Corrections in Virginia has declined to provide further information.
22
Apr
Protest at D.C. Central Detention Facility, Washington, D.C.
April 22, 2020: Prisoners at the Central Detention Facility in Washington, D.C. engaged in shouting and refusing to remove their hands from their cells food slots in protest of conditions imposed due to COVID19 lockdown. Pepper spray was deployed by guards on two prisoners.
20
Apr
Disturbance at Bridge City Center for Youth, Louisiana
April 20, 2020: Juveniles held at the Bridge City Center for Youth engaged in a disturbance that included 4 dormitory units. Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Deputies responded with a SWAT team to a call at approximately 8:30 p.m. to reports of prisoners fighting with each other and destroying property. An unidentified source told Fox 8 that the incident lasted for hours.
19
Apr
Attack on Guard at Sumter Correctional Institution, Florida
April 19, 2020: Multiple prisoners confined at Sumter Correctional Institution in Bushnell, Florida, attacked a guard. On the day of the attack, the cases of COVID-19 at Sumter Correctional had risen from seven to 24.
17
Apr
Disturbance at Pendleton Correctional Facility, Indiana
April 17, 2020: According to the Indiana Department of Corrections, a “disturbance” took place at 10:40 a.m. on April 17 at the Pendleton Correctional Facility involving four prisoners.
16
Apr
Food Strike at Ontario Correctional Institute in Response to COVID-19 Outbreak
April 16, 2020: Prisoners refuse to eat meals in cafeteria following a COVID-19 outbreak.
12
Apr
Uprising at Bordeaux Prison, Canada in Response to COVID-19 Measures
April 12, 2020: Prisoners at the Montreal Detention Centre participated in a small uprising on Easter Sunday in response to measures put in place in response to the pandemic. According to an article from La Presse, prisoners have been allowed to only leave their cells in small groups. When the guards released the wrong set of prisoners, some became “reluctant and came to blows with the guards”.
12
Apr
Uprising at Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brooklyn, New York
April 12, 2020: An uprising involving at least eight detainees occurred on the evening of Sunday, April 12, 2020, at the Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brooklyn, New York. The incident was in response to a recent policy to transfer youth detainees due to COVID-19. According to one source, youth detained at the Center “managed to break out of their cells, access a supply room, turn mops into weapons, and beat several guards, one so badly they needed stitches.”
