The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division announced Monday that it has opened an investigation into whether the District of Columbia's jails have used excessive force against inmates and failed to provide adequate medical care, safe and sanitary conditions, and adequate nutrition.
Several people have complained about the treatment inmates face in D.C. correctional facilities, according to the press release.
The Department has received numerous allegations regarding conditions in D.C. DOC facilities, including a report from the District of Columbia’s own Auditor. Allegations include failing to protect them from use of excessive force, failing to provide adequate medical care, failing to provide safe and sanitary physical conditions of confinement, and failing to provide adequate nutrition. The Department will investigate the D.C. DOC pursuant to its authority to enforce the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA). The Department has not reached any conclusions regarding allegations in this matter.
Under CRIPA, the Department has the authority to investigate violations of prisoners’ constitutional rights that result from a “pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment of such rights.” The Department has conducted CRIPA investigations of many correctional systems, and where violations have been found, the resulting settlement agreements have led to important reforms.
The @CivilRights Division protects the rights of all incarcerated Americans, including those held in the DC Jail. We @theJusticeDept will make sure DC inmates are not subjected to unconstitutional conditions of confinement. https://t.co/dQOXUfKt39
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) October 19, 2026
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon sent a letter saying the DOJ will investigate whether the District “engages in a pattern or practice of violating the constitutional rights of inmates and detainees.” The DOJ referred to a report from the District’s own auditor, which found the death rate in custody was 3.5 times the national average and that overdose deaths were 10 times higher. The investigation made 39 findings and said conditions had worsened since 2019.
🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨 The DOJ's Civil Rights division has launched an investigation into into the D.C. Department of Corrections. The DOJ is looking into whether the D.C. DOC engages in a pattern or practice of violating prisoners’ and detainees’ constitutional rights. The D.C. DOC is accused of failing to protect inmates from use of excessive force, failing to provide adequate medical care, failing to provide safe and sanitary physical conditions of confinement, and failing to provide adequate nutrition. The jail is also infested with mold and when members of Congress were going to visit the jail--the jail painted over the mold. As you may recall, former inmate Dominic Pezzola has celiac disease. During his incarceration, he was reportedly given only gluten-containing food, which made him extremely sick. Thank you @HarmeetKDhillon for looking into this.
— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) October 19, 2026
The audit also found at least 790 assaults, 400 uses of force and 1,595 emergency maintenance problems, including mold and vermin.
The facility drew national attention after defendants charged with offenses related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol building alleged they were kept in harsh conditions.
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U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who handled the case of a J6 defendant, called the conditions at the jail “deplorable.”
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