U.S. federal prisons closed due to protests - media

For the first time in 25 years, the entire Bureau of Prisons system and all of its facilities are under complete lockdown. The lockdown, prompted by protests and rioting across the country after the death of George Floyd, went into effect late Monday afternoon.

The bureau had been operating under what it calls "an enhanced modified operational model" - a modified lockdown - to promote social distancing and mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, NBC News reported.

But in the wake of protests across the county, the BOP says it implemented an additional, temporary security measure that results in a complete lockdown of all inmates. The order is to ensure the safety and security of staff and inmates, the agency said.  

An official for the agency said that the hope is that the lockdown is short-lived and that inmates will be restored to limited movement quickly.  BOP is monitoring the situation and says it will adjust security levels as events warrant.

The bureau runs 122 institutions nationwide. On Monday night, 165,575 inmates were in the federal system.

The last time a nationwide lockdown was activated was October 1995, when rioting broke out at prisons in four states. But BOP said Monday's lockdown is not punitive or a reaction to any disturbances inside the prisons, rather it's precautionary.