(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The Bureau of Prisons said Monday it will close FCI Dublin, a women’s prison in California known as the “rape club,”where multiple Jan. 6 inmates were held.
The announcement of FCI Dublin’s closure comes after the FBI searched the prison last month, after a warden sent to help rehabilitate the facility was accused of retaliating against a whistleblower inmate.
Days later, a federal judge overseeing lawsuits against the prison, said she would appoint a special master to oversee the facility’s operations. Many are viewing the decision to close FCI Dublin as retaliation against the judge for appointing someone to oversee the facility.
An AP investigation in 2021 found a culture of abuse and cover-ups that had persisted for years at the prison. That reporting led to increased scrutiny from Congress and pledges from the BOP that it would fix problems and change the culture at the prison.
Since 2021, at least eight FCI Dublin employees have been charged with sexually abusing inmates. Five have pleaded guilty. Two were convicted at trial, including the former warden, Ray Garcia. Another case is pending.
Multiple Jan. 6 inmates were held at FCI Dublin, including a grandmother.
From Blazing Press:’Scared to Death. I’m Frightened’: Daughter Delivers Elderly Mother with Cancer to Prison on Jan 6 Charges
Just arrived at FCI Dublin prison in California with J6 defendant PAMELA HEMPHILL – her last words…”GOD is with me” pic.twitter.com/sKqN7Nl7VP
— Melanie (@melcasebee) July 16, 2022
A Twitter account purporting to belong to Jan. 6 defendant Danean MacAndrew described her experience in the wretched facility. MacAndrew was at FCI Dublin for misdemeanor charges.
“I served time here. It was so bad when the guards screamed at us. Many of the women have PTSD from domestic violence. It was a massive trigger and the guards knew it,” she said.
I served time here. It was so bad when the guards screamed at us. Many of the women have PTSD from domestic violence. It was a massive trigger and the guards knew it. https://t.co/sUx2HtjtQi
— Danean (@DaneanHere2) April 18, 2024
Last August, eight FCI Dublin inmates sued the BOP, alleging the agency had failed to root out sexual abuse. Amaris Montes, a lawyer for the plaintiffs,
Montes said the civil litigation will continue despite the imminent closure.
“The BOP is the defendant in the case. It’s not FCI Dublin,” she said. “And so we are in the mindset that this did not end our case — that they still have a responsibility to our clients to keep them safe.”
Meanwhile, inmate advocates worry that some of the safety concerns at FCI Dublin could persist at the other women’s prisons. “The problem isn’t solved by shipping these girls to new facilities,” said another former Dublin inmate and whistleblower who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“These facilities still have the same issues.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
