Minnesota Prison Under Emergency Lockdown as Inmates Protest
A Minnesota prison found itself in an emergency lockdown on Sunday as approximately 100 prisoners chose not to return to their cells, according to authorities.
The incident occurred at the Minnesota Correctional Facility – Stillwater, which houses around 1,200 inmates. Approximately 100 inmates participated in the protest, with the situation being peacefully resolved by 4 p.m., as confirmed by the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
During the lockdown, no injuries were reported, and the protest was described as peaceful by a spokesperson. The reason for the protest appeared to be related to changes in cell release schedules over the Labor Day weekend and concerns about access to clean water. However, the Minnesota Department of Corrections disputed these claims.
Officials from the Department of Corrections clarified that the modified schedule was due to staffing challenges and provided limited out-of-cell time for activities like showers, phone use, and recreation. They emphasized that claims of a lack of clean water were false.
The corrections officers’ union attributed the lockdown to “chronic understaffing” and stressed the importance of balancing offender programming and facility security. They highlighted the ongoing issues resulting from insufficient security staff to maintain the prison’s operations.
Bart Andersen, the Executive Director of AFSCME Council 5, remarked that the incident underscored the impact of chronic understaffing on the prison’s operations and offender satisfaction.
At the time of the protest, the cause behind the inmates’ actions remained unclear. A Special Operations Response Team was deployed to manage the crisis, and prison staff members were temporarily relocated from common areas.
While the lockdown continues through Labor Day, authorities reassured that the situation remains stable. Fox News Digital reached out to the Minnesota Department of Corrections for a statement, though no response has been received as of now.