D.C. Jail Uprising (1972)

Wed Oct 11, 1972

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Image: Inmates shouting to reporters and others gathered outside the D.C. jail. Source: Washington Area Spark and DC Public Library, Star Collection

On this day in 1972, inmates at a Washington, D.C. jail seized control of part of their prison, taking hostages and demanding to be released.

The uprising began when an inmate pretending to have a seizure drew a loaded .38 pistol on the two officers that came to check on him. After subduing the officers, they freed 50 other inmates and took control of the cellblock, capturing several other guards as hostages in the process.

The inmates demanded to speak to a prison reporter, Washington Claiborne. Inmates issued varying statements to him that indicated a revolutionary fervor among prisoners:

“We don’t want nothin’ but the sidewalk. What do you think we want, better food? Bullshit. We want the sidewalk, man.”

“We want you to understand one thing very clearly. This is not a riot, it’s a revolution.”

“We ain’t removed, man. We don’t mind dying for the fucking cause.”

Prison negotiators eventually got the inmates to back off of demanding release, but only in exchange for the opportunity to go before a federal judge to air their grievances about the jail and the promise of no reprisals for their actions. The inmates got their hearing, and a new facility was built.

Despite the promise of no reprisals, all nine inmates who participated in the uprising were prosecuted and convicted on various charges.