Approximately 400 prisoners — all pretrial detainees — are being moved to a federal penitentiary in Pennsylvania, the Marshals Service revealed to The Washington Post. The DC jail at the center of the matter is where defendants in the deadly January 6 Capitol riot are currently being held.
The US Marshals Service released its statement on its inspection at the DC jail on Tuesday.
“The USMS inspection was prompted by recent and historical concerns raised regarding conditions at the DC DOC facilities, including those recently raised by various members of the judiciary,” the Marshals Service said.
“The US Marshal’s inspection of [the Central Detention Facility] revealed that conditions there do not meet the minimum standards of confinement as prescribed by the Federal Performance-Based Detention Standards.”
An increased number of complaints about the treatment of jailed defendants in the January 6 insurrection led to the surprise inspection that ultimately discovered evidence of “systemic” mistreatment of general population detainees, but not of the January 6 defendants, officials noted.
The detainees were reportedly found in deplorable and unsanitary conditions, with punitive denial of food and water. The findings were referred to the Justice Department Civil Rights Division.
Conditions at a newer Central Treatment Facility, where January 6 defendants are currently held, “were observed to be largely appropriate and consistent with federal prisoner detention standards," USMS determined. It was later detailed that a transfer from the same DC facility would not be necessary for the insurrection defendants.
The USMS is expected to work alongside officials to undertake a corrective action plan to remedy the shortfalls.