Protesters Call For Closure Of RI Prison, 3 Arrested

Cranston RI

09 November, 2020

3:51 PM

Description

CENTRAL FALLS, RI — A group of protestors gathered at Wyatt Detention Center Friday, calling for the closure of the facility. Three people were arrested after the group blocked all entrances and exits to the prison for approximately two hours. The protest was organized by Alliance to Mobilize Our Resistance and The FANG Collective, two Rhode Island based advocacy groups. This is not the first time protestors have gathered at the prison, criticizing its contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the conditions of those detained. "The existence of the Wyatt is inhumane and violent," one protestor said in a statement released by protest organizers. "People detained by ICE have written to us, gone on hunger strike during COVID, and now are getting sick at a rapid rate. Shutting down the Wyatt, and all prisons and detention centers, is the only humane and just solution." According to the release, three of the protestors were arrested around 3:30 p.m., after the groups blocked all entrances and exits, shutting down the facility for several hours. "Today I am thinking of Hiu Liu Ng, who was killed by ICE at the Wyatt," another protest participant said. "I am thinking of Roxsana Hernandez and Johana Medina Leon, two trans women killed by ICE in the last two years. I am thinking of everyone inside of the facility right now, separated from those who care about them. This detention center, this institution, and the prison industrial complex cannot continue." Related: Organization Calls For Bondholders To Step Away From Wyatt PrisonSuspended Wyatt Correctional Officer Thomas Woodworth ResignsNo Criminal Charges Filed In Wyatt Protest Incident