Congressmen: Jan. 6 Prisoners Beaten, Harassed, Denied Basic Necessities

“For requiring their blood [God] hath remembered them: he hath not forgotten the cry of the poor.” —Psalm 9:13

Prisoners who have not been convicted or even, in some cases, tried in court are beaten, abused, denied basic medical care and food, forced to live in filthy, squalid conditions, and prevented from speaking with attorneys.  These people are political prisoners, and the country’s government is hurling extreme accusations and smears at them, calling them “terrorists,” making them the national scapegoats.  No, I’m not talking about Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia or Communist China.  I’m talking about the United States, and these prisoners are the Jan. 6 political prisoners currently suffering grievous abuses of their rights and dignity as humans.

A number of Congressional representatives, including Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Andy Biggs, and Louie Gohmert, signed a letter to the Washington, D.C. mayor detailing the awful abuses the Jan. 6 prisoners are undergoing under the watch of Kathleen Landerkin, Deputy Warden of Operations at the Central Treatment Facility (CTF).  The letter calls for Landerkin to be removed from her job because of how this abuser of the public trust (as Charles Dickens would put it) has carried out her duties.  Here are some excerpts from the letter:

“We write to demand the immediate termination of Kathleen Landerkin as Deputy Warden of Operations at the Central Treatment Facility (CTF). Deputy Warden Landerkin has demonstrated a consistent pattern of disrespect for Members of Congress and fellow corrections staff, in addition to displaying a public animus toward anyone who supports President Donald J. Trump. Following a thorough investigation of her social media statements, actions, and endorsements, we are convinced that Landerkin lacks the objectivity and professionalism required of a law enforcement officer charged with overseeing inmates detained in connection with the events of January 6, 2021.

During a recent visit to the DC jail, Members of Congress were exposed to a two-tier justice system in which the January 6 defendants were treated categorically different from the remainder of the prison population. January 6 defendants reported being subjected to months of solitary confinement, verbal abuse (e.g., called ‘white supremacists’), harassment, beatings from guards, denial of basic medical care, religious services, communion, nutritious diet, and access to attorneys. They cannot participate in the educational programs offered to other inmates, including testing for a GED, obtaining a workplace license, or making progress on an undergraduate degree. While most of these inmates have no prior criminal history and have yet to be convicted of any crime, Landerkin is allowing them to be treated as subhuman.

Since Landerkin is charged with overseeing these inmates, we find their treatment over the better part of a year to be sufficient cause for change in supervision. The role of Deputy Warden should be filled by a person who exhibits objectivity and neutrality toward those they are tasked with detaining.

Instead, Landerkin is perpetuating a two-tier incarceration system where Caucasian pre-trial detainees are given ‘Nation of Islam’ reading materials telling them they are evil because of the color of their skin and that America is a terrible country that perpetuates a racial caste system. Meanwhile, other inmates — many of whom have already been convicted  — have access to book clubs, moot court, and hours of television.

If her actions toward the January 6 inmates were not enough, her words speak volumes. Landerkin has endorsed numerous statements which are blatantly anti-American and reprehensible: among others, equating Christians to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), stating that Ashli Babbitt was responsible for being shot on January 6, labeling the President a ‘f **king Republican hypocritical piece of shit’ and ‘a pig,’ abolishing the electoral college, and advocating that Speaker Pelosi punish Republican Members of Congress for objecting to the certification of electoral ballots by not seating them as duly-elected Representatives. . .

Furthermore, Landerkin’s administration of the facility’s staff  is itself an issue. She is currently being sued for enabling and fostering a toxic environment of harassment and discrimination inside the jail. According to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU, Landerkin has been accused of causing mental anguish, personal distress, indignity, embarrassment, pain, and suffering. . .

Since the U.S. Marshals Service has already determined that the DC jail is not hospitable for the large majority of its inhabitants and your office has already conceded the need for reform in the recent memorandum of understanding (MOU), it would be unfortunate if your office were forced to defend the unhinged political commentary of a woman sworn to uphold justice to those who have yet to be determined guilty by a jury of their peers.”

This is said to be the account of one of the Jan. 6 prisoners himself.  Aside from the horror stories of sewage overflows, brutal physical abuse, starvation, mental anguish, and strip searches, it includes the further information that (Covid) unvaccinated prisoners are treated even worse than vaccinated prisoners.

Welcome to Joe Biden’s America.