Unusually Cruel: An Eyewitness Report From The DC Jail

Executive Summary

On Thursday, November 4, 2021, U.S. Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14) and Louie Gohmert (TX-01)—along with their staffs—were given a three-and-a-half-hour tour of two DC Department of Corrections (DOC) facilities at 1901 D St. SE: the Central Detention Facility (CDF) and Central Treatment Facility (CTF). The purpose of the congressional visit was to inspect the conditions of the two facilities, specifically the treatment of inmates held in the CTF in relation to the events of January 6, 2021.

The November 4 tour was only accomplished after months of persistence. Representative Greene and her congressional colleagues, Reps. Gohmert, Matt Gaetz, and Paul Gosar, were denied entry to the jail on multiple occasions—July 29 and November 3. In July, the Deputy Warden of the facility—Ms. Kathleen Landerkin, charged a congressional delegation led by Rep. Greene with trespassing, avoided and evaded Representatives’ questions, and forcibly locked congressional Members out of the facility.

On the morning of November 4, Congresswoman Greene and Congressman Gohmert personally delivered a letter to the D.C. Mayor’s Office, signed by four Members of Congress, requesting a tour of the facilities and the termination of Deputy Warden Landerkin (see Exhibit 2, Appendix). The Mayor’s Office did not respond to Congresswoman Greene’s staff until 6:16 p.m., offering the Congresswoman the option of attending a tour for the D.C. City Council set to begin at 6:30 p.m. With less than 15 minutes before the tour (supposedly) started, Congresswoman Greene and her staff raced to the facility, as did Congressman Gohmert and two staff members.

Two days earlier (November 2), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) released a statement declaring that the CDF did not meet “minimum standards of confinement” and approximately 400 detainees would be moved to a prison in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania (see Exhibit 1, Appendix).1 The Marshals’ November 2 statement determined that the conditions in the CTF—the facility where inmates are being held in pre-trial custody related to alleged offenses on January 6 at the U.S. Capitol—were not sufficient to transfer January 6 inmates.2

Throughout the more than three-hour tour, Members and staff were shown a variety of jail conditions and populations: well-behaved young men (“Young Men Emerging”), general adult populations accessing educational resources and practicing moot court (“LEAD UP”), maximum security inmates sequestered for assault or sexual assault of other inmates and corrections facility staff (“One Block South”), and finally the approximately 40 detainees related to January 6.

After reflecting on the tour, the conditions of the CDF corroborated the Marshals’ assessment published on November 2. Some inmates—specifically those segregated for assault or sexual assault—were housed in atrocious and cramped conditions, including cell blocks with putrid air circulation, supposedly caused by inmates igniting toilet tissue and having little to no access outside of their cells for long periods of time. Other parts of the facility revealed an overt and callous education curriculum which emphasized the supposed cruelty and racial prejudice of the U.S. prison system (e.g., book club curriculum within the Young Men Emerging).

More concretely, multiple common areas of the CDF contained distributional reading materials which promoted the Nation of Islam and Critical Race Theory. Additionally, members of the Young Men Emerging cohort of inmates (within CTF) revealed that they are reading books which emphasize the unusual cruelty of the American justice system and intend to study materials which promote the view that the United States perpetuates a racial caste system.3

After a heated confrontation with the Mayor’s representative, Mr. Kinlow, and DOC staff, Representatives and staff were finally taken to see the January 6 inmates in the CTF. Congressmembers Greene and Gohmert refused to leave until the tour included the January 6 inmates. Notwithstanding the warm welcome from the inmates, the physical conditions in which they are held could only be described as inhumane.

For example, cells in the January 6 wing of the CTF were extremely small, composed of a single toilet, sink, and a small bed cot. The walls of the rooms had residue of human feces, bodily fluids, blood, dirt, and mold. The community showers were recently scrubbed of black mold—some of which remained. The interior walls of the common area were also freshly painted. According to the inmates, the U.S. Marshals had recently visited the area just days before, which caused a flurry of activity by guards to clean up the January 6 area while the U.S. Marshals were inspecting another area.

Inmates explained that they did not have access to their attorneys, families, or proper nutrition from the jail. Shortly after entering the January 6 wing of the CTF, inmates assembled for their daily salute to the American flag and singing of the national anthem. Following almost an hour of personal interviews with January 6 detainees, all in attendance—except the DC jail staff—gathered in a circle while Congresswoman Greene closed the group in prayer. At approximately 10:15 p.m., Members and staff exited the facilities.

It is also important to note that the DC jail facility has an area designed for meetings between attorneys and clients with plexiglass and phones as they face each other through the glass. Use of that facility should not result in 14 days of solitary confinement simply for meeting with an attorney.

The following report is the consolidated testimony from six eyewitnesses.

This document will outline the events of the evening of November 4, from the time Congresswoman Greene was notified of the availability of the tour around 6:20 p.m. to the time Members and staff exited the facility at 10:15 p.m.

Throughout the report, Department of Corrections staff will be referred to by their last names. For reference, the relevant names are reproduced below:

Relevant Department of Corrections and Mayor’s Office Staff:
• Ms. Wanda Patten, Deputy Director of Operations, Department of Corrections and Warden, DC Jail
• Ms. Kathleen Landerkin, Deputy Warden—Operations, CTF, DC Jail
• Mr. Quincy Booth, Director, DC Department of Corrections
• Dr. Amy Lopez, Chief Education Administrator, Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP)
• Mr. Eugene D. Kinlow, Director, Office of Federal and Regional Affairs for the Executive Office of the Mayor

Note:
Throughout the tour of the jail, where a person’s name was not provided or cannot be recalled, the report will refer to the person by their function (e.g., “Georgetown 3L Law Student” directing Moot Court Team at LEAD UP, CTF). Any dialogue reproduced below is sourced from the eyewitness testimony of the congressional staff and Representatives who were in attendance for the tour. To protect the privacy and legal rights of January 6 detainees, the report will not refer to the inmates by name. However, the report will reproduce commentary and feedback from DOC staff and inmates within the CDF, CTF, and the January 6 detainee wing.

Unusually Cruel: An Eyewitness Report From The DC Jail PDF