Federal Prison Authorities Used Nationwide Protests as an Excuse to Impose Lockdowns and Kept Inmates in Cells 24 hrs a day, w/o Access to Phones or Showers "until it is calm around the nation"

From [HERE] On June 2, for the first time in 25 years, the Bureau of Prisons directed all federal jails and prisons to implement a full lockdown, confining nearly 160,000 people to their cells and severely limiting contact with the outside world. The following day, on the orders of Attorney General William Barr, the Bureau pulled some of its most militarized units out of BOP facilities and deployed them to confront protesters on the streets of Washington, D.C. 

Typically, a lockdown occurs in a single facility at the discretion of the warden, usually in response to temporary incidents like fights or, more rarely, longer-term issues like inadequate staffing levels. But this June’s full lockdown was extraordinary in its pretext, scope, and duration. It heightened restrictions already in place in federal facilities, which have been on “modified” lockdown since March in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. A BOP employee told The Appeal in June that the heightened lockdown kept people in their cells or units for 24 hours a day, often without access to phones, email, or showers.

The BOP announced the lockdown would last “until it is calm around the nation,” referencing protests against police brutality and the killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer. The BOP did not mention any specific protest or incident that had yet occurred inside any facility. Rather, BOP Spokesperson Justin Long explained that the Bureau was acting “in an abundance of caution.” The preemptive nature of the lockdown distinguishes it from the last nation-wide lockdown in 1995, which followed two days of violent incidents at three prisons. [MORE]