The Department of Justice on Monday notified the Washington, D.C., Department of Corrections that it would open an investigation into the treatment of prisoners and conditions inside the district’s prisons and jails.
Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s civil rights division, wrote the letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser informing the district of plans to investigate DCDOC to determine whether it “engages in a pattern or practice of violating the constitutional rights of inmates.”
According to the letter, the DOJ is looking into allegations that the DCDOC fails to provide adequate medical care, safe and clean living conditions, nutritious meals, and protect prisoners from the use of force. The scope of the investigation will go back as far as January 2021.
“The Constitution protects the rights of every incarcerated American, including those held in custody in our nation’s capital,” Dhillon said. “We are committed to upholding our federal civil rights laws so that no inmate is confined in unconstitutional conditions or subject to unconstitutional mistreatment at the District of Columbia Department of Corrections.”
The DOJ said in a news release that the details in its release stem from “numerous allegations,” including some made in an audit by the Office of the District of Columbia Auditor in May 2025. The report from the district auditor referenced a “desperate need” for a new facility and alleged jails were understaffed, unkept, had “parasites, vermin, and mold,” and there were instances of substance abuse and death. The DCDOC rejected the claims made in the audit.
Six inmates currently and formerly held at the D.C. Central Detention Facility filed a lawsuit last week against the DCDOC, alleging they were consistently served meals containing mice, cockroaches, and other critters. The plaintiffs allege their complaints about the food were dismissed by prison personnel.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Oct. 15 and details incidents from 2023 until August of this year. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit provided photos of the food they were served to the Washington Post, which appear to show dead mice in salads and cockroaches in green beans.
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The CDF, opened in 1976, garnered widespread attention following defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on the U.S. Capitol being held at the jail alleging they experienced “inhuman” conditions while being jailed at the facility.
The Washington Examiner reached out to DCDOC for comment.