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.
2020
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.
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”.
08
Apr
Uprising at Monroe Correctional Complex, Washington Amidst Covid-19 Outbreak
April 8, 2020: Between 100-200 prisoners at the Monroe Corrections Complex staged a protest and uprising in response to an outbreak of Covid-19 at the prison and the inadequate response of the administration and staff.
05
Apr
Uprising at Passaic County Jail, New Jersey Due to COVID-19
April 5, 2020: A day after a prisoner tested positive for COVID-19 and was placed in quarantine, at least 6 other prisoners refused to follow orders to return to their cells. Sheriff’s deputies allege that the prisoners grabbed sheets and set a series of small fires.
02
Apr
Protest at Neuse Correctional, North Carolina in Response to COVID-19 Outbreak
April 2, 2020: A group of prisoners at the Neuse Correctional Institution staged a protest Thursday afternoon after receiving news that two prisoners at the facility had tested positive for COVID-19.
30
Mar
Prisoners Start a Fire at Unnamed Texas Prison in Response to COVID-19
March, 2020 (exact date unknown): Prisoners at an unknown facility in Texas started a fire in their unit sometime during the last week of March, 2020 to protest lack of access to electricity and showers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
24
Mar
Disturbance at Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center, Louisiana
March 24, 2020: A group of immigrant detainees at the Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center were pepper sprayed Tuesday after becoming “physically combative” in the recreation area, according to ICE officials who spoke with BuzzFeed News. Details of the incident are unclear at this time, but it occurs amidst a growing wave of protest at jails, prisons and detention centers across the country in response to a growing outbreak of COVID-19 among incarcerated people.
23
Mar
Two Protests at LaSalle ICE Processing Center, Louisiana in Response to COVID-19
March 23 and March 25, 2020: Immigrant detainees at the LaSalle ICE Processing Center staged two protests last week in response to concerns over the potential spread of COVID-19 in their facility, according to government documents obtained by BuzzFeed News.
23
Mar
ICE Detainees in South Texas Protest Over Lack of Response to COVID-19 Epidemic
March 23, 2020: Approximately 60 immigrant detainees refused to return to their cell block Monday in protest of a lack of response on the part of the facility to the threat of COVID-19. In response to the protest, guards sprayed the protesters with OC Spray. The event was referred to as a “riot” by journalists and advocates, but the specifics of the incident are still unclear.
