September 21, 2018: At least six juvenile detainees reportedly grabbed staff who were trying to take another boy back to his cell. During the melee, the boys flipped tables and threw chairs, threatened staff and destroyed property. Specific details remain unclear. Following the event, at least six detainees are charged with battery.
2018
27
Jul
Prisoners Hack JPay Tablets, Idaho
July 27, 2018: Idaho prison officials say 364 inmates exploit a software vulnerability in the JPay tablets they use for email, music, and games to collectively transfer nearly a quarter million dollars into their accounts.
14
Apr
Violence at Lee Correctional Leaves 7 Prisoners Dead
April 14- April 15, 2018: Guards refuse to intervene for hours while fights spread to multiple units of the facility. Due to broken locks on cell doors, prisoners are unable to lock themselves in cells for protection. In the end, seven prisoners are dead, some as a result of prolonged lack of medical attention. The event is the deadliest prison disruption since the Lucasville Uprising in 1993. It captures national media attention and leads prisoner organizers to accelerate calls for a national prison strike on August 21- September 9, 2018.
2016
26
Jul
Uprising at Vanderburgh County Jail, Indiana
July 26, 2016: Prisoners at the Vanderburgh County Jail refused to be handcuffed, flooded their cell, put soap on the floor to trip the guards when they entered and used bed bunks and mattresses as barricades and shields. Sheriff Dave Wedding stated: “They were yelling, screaming, and they start violently kicking on our doors and pounding on the windows and these were nine people in a housing unit of about 70 people or so. Sometimes that can incite other people to follow their lead so we could’ve had bigger problems.”
19
Jun
Cavs Fan Rebellion at Rikers Island
June 19, 2016: After the COs broke a promise to allow the inmates to watch the Cavs game 7 of the NBA finals, inmates built barricades and held the rec room for two hours.
21
May
Disturbance During Power Outage and Forced Evacuation at Luther Unit in Texas
May 21, 2016: At least 50 prisoners refused to comply with orders to return to their cells during a power outage caused by flooding. After prisoners protested for an hour, guards used chemical agents to subdue the protest and send three prisoners to the hospital for unknown injuries.
29
Apr
Uprising at Sarpy County Jail, Nebraska
April 29, 2016: Four prisoners “become unruly” damaging about 11 sprinklers in the holding cell, flooding it and the public defenders’ office below. The water causes approximately $100,000 in damage. The prisoners are charged with criminal mischief and terroristic threats, with bond set at $1 million.
13
Apr
Protest at York County Jail, Maine
April 13, 2016: At least half of the 79 prisoners in general population refuse to go to their cells in a “non-violent protest” of recent policy changes at the jail. Initially “mischaracterized as a riot” according to Sheriff William King, the protest brings emergency response teams and ambulances. After one-hour the prisoners return to their cells.
2015
29
Oct
Prisoners “Take Over” Alcorn County Correctional Facility, Mississippi
October 29, 2015: 240 prisoners are transferred after it comes to light that prisoners had been “basically running” the jail. Prisoners had been leaving the facility to work on private property and even crossing state lines. Authorities seize weapons, drugs, cell phones and jail keys from prisoners. “It appears to simply just be a ‘free for all’ that was going on at the Correctional Facility.”
09
Sep
Uprising at Donaldson Correctional Facility, Alabama
September 9, 2015: After days of lockdown and other unusual restrictions on their movement, inmates rush an unlocked door of the dining hall en-masse and occupy it before also taking over the common area and refusing to lock down. They fight guards who attempt to subdue them. A prisoner’s report of the incident highlights its multiracial nature.
