Official: Eden Prison Protest Resolved

The standoff between inmates and prison guards was resolved Saturday afternoon, said a spokesman for CCA, Inc., the company that manages the federal lockup for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

‘This afternoon, staff at Eden Detention Center secured a peaceful resolution to an incident in which a group of inmates in the recreation yard refused orders to return to their housing dormitories.

“All inmates have now peacefully exited the recreation yard and are secured in their housing dormitories. At no time did any incidents of violence occur, and the community was never in danger. All staff and inmates are accounted for. The facility is secured while an investigation is conducted. Facility management notified its partner, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and kept officials apprised throughout the duration of the incident,” stated Steven Owen, managing director of communications for CCA, Inc. in a statement released just before 7 p.m. Saturday.

Information leaked that an inmate protest was underway early Friday evening when a sister of one of the inmates notified San Angelo LIVE! She said the protest was over the stricter policies of the head warden there. The head warden there took over one year ago according to the CCA, Inc. website.

The call, that originated out-of-state from a sister of an inmate, claimed, “He (the brother who is an inmate) has called and said that the inmates are being treated inhumanely. So they are all outside in the yard asking for God’s eyes to see them. He said they wanted to be treated with dignity and like human beings,” the female who in a callback interview claimed to be the sister of an inmate in the Eden prison.

“He would like for helicopters to come and see them, and see what the situation is,” she said.

Late Friday night, CCA stated that Eden’s Special Operations Response Team (SORT) has been activated. Personnel in full riot gear were seen and photographed by our reporter entering the prison compound.

CCA did not reveal if any of the grievances of the inmates were addressed to resolve the protest that was characterized as “passive.”

The prison in Eden is operated by CCA, Inc. The prison is noted to be a low-security facility operated by the corporation for the Federal Bureau of Prisons since 1995. It is located along U.S. 87 in Eden, Texas.

More on the prison protest here.