2 Florida prisons on lockdown on day of national ‘strike’
Two more Florida prisons were placed on lockdown Friday, as state corrections officers and commanders attempted to keep order during what was touted as a nationwide prison strike timed to coincide with the 45th anniversary of the infamous riot at Attica prison in New York.
Michelle Glady, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections, said “disturbances” had happened Friday morning at Gulf and Mayo Correctional Institutions, and that smaller ones were reported in other prisons across the state.
A rebellion in advance of the strike happened at Holmes Correctional in Florida’s Panhandle on Wednesday night, involving more than 400 inmates. It caused damage to nearly every dorm and lasted into early Thursday morning, officials said. No one was seriously injured, but the department was concerned that the disturbance might be a harbinger of future trouble.
Florida’s prison system, the nation’s third-largest, will remain on high alert the rest of the weekend. Glady said the disruptions Friday ranged from a handful of inmates refusing to perform their work assignments to “major” revolts.
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